At least, I think it’s what’s locally known as. That’s what Fahim told me, but he’s not absolutely positive. But we are positive that, whatever it goes by in Sinhala or Tamil, it’s also called the sun-rumpled purplebird. Oh, wait, no, it’s the purple-rumpled sunbird… No, no, no… Purple-Rumped Sunbird (Leptocoma zeylonica). And see? There? At the end of the Latin name? Yeah, that’s Ceylon, which is what Sri Lanka used to be called.
This bird is not a frequent visitor that I’ve noticed. In fact, this time when I photographed him might be the only time I’ve seen him. You know, old age, lousy memory, the usual…
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Today is Flying Friday. That means I showcase some kind of flying creature – birds, insects, bats… – that I’ve seen and hopefully photographed every Friday.
And because I like looking at other people’s pretty and/or interesting pictures, too, I’d love it if you joined me. Please leave a comment with the URL (permalink) to your blog post featuring a flying creature, hopefully with a photo.
C’mon, you want to join in. You know you do. 😀
Christine – pictures? I’d love to see pictures of the bird and nest, and eggs if you have the chance. If you have them posted on a blog or site like flickr, please leave a link. 🙂
I wouldn’t have thought they’d build a nest in an ornamental tree, but then we have nests being built in our eaves, so perhaps birds aren’t so picky as I would have thought.
And yes, I’m quite aware of how difficult these birds are to photograph. Oy.
Hi
I live in Dehiwela, Sri Lanka in an apartment block. The ‘Pani Kurulla’ as we refer to has built its nest on a small ornamental tree in a pot on my balcony.
The nest itself is about 4 – 5 inches long and shaped like a bird, with a beak at the top. The entrance is covered partially by the beak preventing invaders from entering the nest.
I was rather surprised to find the nest, as I brush past this tree every day when watering the plants on the balcony. But, it doesn’t appear to have been deterrent to the pani kurulla who has built it totally unnoticed by me. I used to wonder why there were so many tiny leaves below the tree two weeks or so ago, and then last week when I looked up – there it was!
I hope the birds will not be scared off, as I see one often with his beak sticking out of the nest. I have a few pictures of them too. But they are not that easy to photograph, as you’ve got to be very silent.
Nature is wonderful, and God’s Gift to mankind.
Christine