The Sunshine Birds

I see a bright flash of yellow in my backyard….and my heart is filled with joy and hope!  There is this feeling of ‘the sun is shining in the sky and all is well with the world’!

Yes, here I am talking about the sunshine-yellow birds…the Eurasian Golden Oriole, the Common Iora, and the Purple-rumped Sunbird.  I call them  ‘the sunshine birds’ of my backyard.

The Golden Oriole

The Eurasian golden oriole is a bright yellow bird with black in wings and tail. The patterns on the tail are exquisite.  It has a pinkish-red bill, which is suitable for eating insects, fruits like figs, banyan, and peepal (Sacred fig) and berries.  The bill is long enough to get its share of nectar from flowers as well!

The female, as usual, is not so blessed with the golden yellow color.  It is duller and greener, and so are the immature orioles.

The most striking feature of the oriole lies in its eyes. A conspicuous black streak running through the eyes making them look beautifully “kajrare” (in Hindi) or “kohl-lined” as you would say in English.

Please click here for my repertoire of the Golden Oriols

The Common Iora

The common iora is a black and yellow tit-like bird, with two white wing bars. In non-breeding plumage, both male and female are largely greenish yellow, while the male has a black tail.

It hops from twig-to-twig, frequently clinging sideways or upside down, in search of insects among the foliage.  I found the Iora to be one of the most elusive birds to capture on camera….it is so active, restless, and fast!

The birds keep in touch by sweet long drawn musical whistles and short chirps.  I have been unable to record them while singing, the bird is so fast and elusive! I certainly managed to catch their musical notes as a background score, while filming other birds in my backyard.

The great ornithologist, Dr. Salim Ali, says that its Hindi name ‘Shaubeegi” is onomatopoeic ….I personally believe it calls out ‘Adeeteee….”!!

Please click here for my collection of Iora pictures.

The Purple-rumped Sunbird

Leptocoma zeylonica

The purple-rumped sunbird is the smallest and cutest of the three! The male is beautifully colored –  metallic crimson,  green and purple above and bright yellow below.  The rump is metallic bluish purple. On the other hand, the female is olive-brown above with a grayish-white chin, with the less pronounced rump.  All these colors glisten brightly in the sunlight!  The female is olive-brown above and grayish-white chin, and lower parts yellow.

The long, curved and slender beak is well suited for sucking nectar from flowers.  The male sings excitedly, pivoting on his perch from side to side, opening and closing his wings and tail; tityou..tityou..tit-you..trr-r-r-tit and so on.

I had been lucky to see its purple-rumped sunbird chicks in the nest, not in my backyard, but at a resort in Temgarh, near Pune.

The nest is an oblong pouch of soft grasses, rubbish, and cobwebs, with a protecting portico above the lateral entrance hole.  The nest doesn’t look very pretty….but the bird surely compensates for that….it is so gorgeous!!

Wish to see my collection of some of the Purple-rumped sunbirds? Click here.

April 29, 2017

Aditi Deshpande