Sunbird News

Articles on rec.birds about the sunbirds, and correspondence arising from them.




Subject: What Tropical Bird is This??
Date: Mon, 01 Jun 1998 22:17:19 +0800
From: Michael Hartley <cuthere.hartley-m@usa.net.cuthere>
Newsgroups: rec.birds

Hi!

I'm an Aussie working in Malaysia - I have edited my email address to avoid junkmail - hope that's not a problem...

 Specifically, I am living in the Klang valley (near Kuala Lumpur), in Peninsular Malaysia.

 I live in a 2 story house, and was delighted to discover, 3 weeks ago, that a pair of birds had decided to build their nest on my balcony, hanging from my clothesline.

 The birds are small, smaller than a swallow. They have a yellow belly, and a dark greenish brown back and wings. They have a longish slightly curved beak, and I have confirmed that they eat from flowers, since I saw them in a feeding in a nearby bush. The head of the male is darker than that of the female, and he seems slightly smaller.

 The area is semi-urban. The nest is like a rounded bottle, about foot or two from the clothesline to the bottom. It is made of twigs, feathers, nylon, discarded tissues, used cigarette packaging, and old paint chips. These are very modern birds, obviously. The pair of birds took about 4-5 days to build the nest, and only worked during the day.

They don't seem very afraid of me, so by moving carefully, I can still hang out my clothes, or take photos.

After they had finished building, they mated, and then disappeared for about a week. I was afraid they had abandoned the nest, until the mother came back. Since then, she has been sitting in the nest all night every night. During the day, she leaves her nest from time to time.

 A week after she started sitting, I snuck out with a torch one time when she was absent. I wanted to see inside the nest, to see how small the eggs were. To my shock, my torchlight was greeted by a pink squirming blob at the bottom of the nest. It appears the egg(s) have hatched!

 I am looking forward to taking more photos, and if I get time, I will put the best shots onto my web page. But what is the name of the bird? Can anyone tell me more about them???

Yours, Mike H...


Subject: Re: What Tropical Bird is This??
Date: 2 Jun 1998 08:11:28 GMT
From: "Ken & Cathy Baker" <WILLOWKCB@centuryinter.net>
Organization: CENTURYinter.net
Newsgroups: rec.birds

Michael Hartley asked about a bird he has observed in Malaysia:

[snip]

The birds are small, smaller than a swallow. They have a yellow belly, and a dark greenish brown back and wings. They have a longish slightly curved beak, and I have confirmed that they eat from flowers, since I saw them in a feeding in a nearby bush. The head of the male is darker than that of the female, and he seems slightly smaller.

The area is semi-urban. The nest is like a rounded bottle, about foot or two from the clothesline to the bottom. It is made of twigs, feathers, nylon, discarded tissues, used cigarette packaging, and old paint chips. These are very modern birds, obviously. The pair of birds took about 4-5 days to build the nest, and only worked during the day.

They don't seem very afraid of me, so by moving carefully, I can still hang out my clothes, or take photos.

[snip] But what is the name of the bird? Can anyone tell me more about them???

Yours, Mike H...

Mike,

Recently I found a Trip Report about Malaysia. I sent the description of the birds you are wondering about to the folks who wrote the report. They think it might be either an Olive-backed Sunbird or a Brown-throated Sunbird. I've only been able to find a picture online of the Olive-backed variety. It does seem to match your description (I think). Haven't found any information on it as yet.

See if you think the bird in the watercolour is similar to the one you are trying to learn about. It is at: http://www.penang.insights.com.my/home/choo/choo3c.htm [MH : link broken]

Best wishes,
Cathy Baker
WillowKCB@centuryinter.net


Subject: Re: What Tropical Bird is This??
From: abirder@aol.com (Abirder)
Date: 1998/06/03
Newsgroups: rec.birds

Concerning the mystery bird in Malaysia: I would also guess that your bird is the olive backed sunbird, which would make it the same sunbird (I think) that occurs on the North East coast of Australia. In the Field Guide to the Birds of Australia by Simpson and Day, it is called the Yellow-bellied Sunbird and I believe that is the same one (Nectarinia Jugularis) that I saw in Thailand and it was called the Olive backed sunbird in the Field Guide to the Birds of Thailand.

Phyllis Wilburn


Subject: Re: What Tropical Bird is This??
From: Eric Hocking <ehocking@ozemail.com.au>
Date: 1998/06/05
Newsgroups: rec.birds

Abirder wrote:

Concerning the mystery bird in Malaysia: I would also guess that your bird is the olive backed sunbird, which would make it the same sunbird (I think) that occurs on the North East coast of Australia. I agree with you Phyllis. In fact I saw one in Queensland quite recently and have a pretty good photo of him on my web page (plug, plug). It's in the Photography Section under Australia and Queensland. Full path just to the photo would be http://www.ozemail.com.au/~ehocking/images/sunbird.jpg [MH : link broken] (Nectarinia Jugularis)  I just love this name.

 [Walks of humming under breath, "Nectarinia Jugularis, Nectarinia Jugularis, Nectarinia Jugularis...]

Eric Hocking

"A closed mouth gathers no feet"

== Melbourne, Australia ==

http://www.ozemail.com.au/~ehocking


Subject: Re: sunbirds
Date: Sat, 06 Jun 1998 23:31:19 +0800
From: Michael Hartley <hartley-m@usa.net>
To: pmeisenh@imma.org

Pete Meisenheimer wrote:

I sent the following message to rec.birds but neglected to remove both the "cuthere" add-ons in your address.

The description is consistent with this being some kind of sunbird. Olive-backed sunbirds will frequent urban areas and conform generally with your description.

What colour is the male's throat?

His throat is black. Is that the one? Peter Meisenheimer
International Marine Mammal Association
http://www.imma.org

Subject: Re: sunbirds
Date: Sat, 06 Jun 1998 13:19:40 -0400
From: pmeisenh@imma.org (Pete Meisenheimer)
Organization: IMMA
To: Michael Hartley <hartley-m@usa.net>

The throat and upper breast should be metallic blue in good light and a close-up view, but will look black in poor light, or at a distance. The habits and nest description make it unlikely to be anything else, based on your description.

The same species (Nectarina Jugularis) goes by the name yellow-bellied sunbird in Australia.

 They are lovely little birds.

 His throat is black. Is that the one? Peter Meisenheimer
International Marine Mammal Association
http://www.imma.org


Subject: Re: sunbirds
Date: Sun, 07 Jun 1998 18:18:30 +0800
From: Michael Hartley <hartley-m@usa.net>
To: pmeisenh@imma.org

Pete Meisenheimer wrote:

I sent the following message to rec.birds but neglected to remove both the "cuthere" add-ons in your address. The description is consistent with this being some kind of sunbird. Olive-backed sunbirds will frequent urban areas and conform generally with your description.

What colour is the male's throat?

Hello! Sorry abt the short message last time - it was way past my bedtime, so I didn't write much...

Thanks for your email - I haven't checked the newsgroup yet, I'll have to do that forthwith... I hope someone has put the scientific name there...

Would you like me to let you know when (or should I say if?) I get some photos of the birds onto my website?

Peter Meisenheimer
International Marine Mammal Association
http://www.imma.org
 Hmm... Is this man diversifying, or is there something surprising about sunbirds that I need to learn??? What is your work like at the IMMA?

Yours, Mike H...


Subject: Re: sunbirds
Date: Sun, 07 Jun 1998 17:58:48 -0400
From: pmeisenh@imma.org (Pete Meisenheimer)
Organization: IMMA
To: Michael Hartley <hartley-m@usa.net>

No problem with brevity.

I sent you an e-mail with a brief description and the scientific name. I will copy it below, in case you did not get it.

I would be interested in having a look when you post it on your site. Alternatively, if you want me to have a look at it, attach the photo image file to an e-mail and I can view it here. JPEG format would be fine.

I am a fisheries biologist by training, and my work involves ecological issues relating to marine fisheries and their ecological interactions with marine mammals. Birds are a hobby I got into while working in Africa some years ago. My job involves a lot of travel to out-of-the-way corners, so it is a great way to unwind in the field. The closest I've been to your part of the world is Thailand, with Australia a not very close second. I have seen Nectarina Jugularis in Australia.

MESSAGE SENT PREVIOUSLY

The throat and upper breast should be metallic blue in good light and a close-up view, but will look black in poor light, or at a distance. The habits and nest description make it unlikely to be anything else, based on your description.

The same species (Nectarina Jugularis) goes by the name yellow-bellied sunbird in Australia.

They are lovely little birds.

Peter Meisenheimer
International Marine Mammal Association
http://www.imma.org


Subject: Re: Tropical bird?
Date: Sun, 07 Jun 1998 18:14:20 +0800
From: Michael Hartley <hartley-m@usa.net>
To: af877@freenet.carleton.ca

Harry Dodsworth wrote:

Hello Mike,

Are you planning to stay in Malaysia for some time, and, if so, are you interested in buying a field guide?

Hello!

Yes, I'll probably be in Malaysia for quite a while, but actually I'm more a general nature lover than specifically a bird lover, so I wouldn't get to use a field guide so much...

I have a copy of:

A Field Guide to the Birds of South-East Asia by King, Woodcock and Dickinson

published by Collins. London, 1983 printing, Card covers VG condition except one back page is filled with signatures (probably members of a birding trip)

Unfortunately it weighs just over 500g (which doubles the postage)

 Ouch.. you can't pack it full of Helium balloons??  so I have to ask $20 US (or equivalent in other currency) including airmail postage. Let me know if you are interested. You may be able to get a copy locally.

By the way, the book has a picture of the Olive-backed sunbird which some people have suggested as your bird; it agrees with your description.

I haven't checked the newsgroup yet - I'll have to do that forthwith... Thanks for your email! Would you like me to let you know when (or should I say if?) I get some photos of the birds onto my website?

Yours, Mike H...