About Aethopyga siparaja (Raffles, 1822)
Crimson sunbirds (Aethopyga siparaja) are tiny birds, measuring only 11 cm in length. They have medium-length thin down-curved bills and brush-tipped tubular tongues, both of which are adaptations for feeding on nectar. Adult males have a crimson breast, maroon back, and black malar stripes. Their rump is yellow, and their belly is olive. Females have an olive-green back, yellowish breast, and white tips on the outer tail feathers. Across most of the species' range, males have a long green-blue tail. However, the subspecies A. s. nicobarica from the Nicobar Islands, and the former subspecies A. vigorsii (Western crimson sunbird) from the Western Ghats of India, do not have long central tail feathers. The call of this species is chee-cheewee. The crimson sunbird is a resident breeding species found in tropical southern Asia, ranging from India through Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Myanmar to Indonesia and Brunei. Females lay two or three eggs in a suspended nest built in a tree. This species lives in both forest and cultivated areas.
