Cinnyris asiaticus
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
The purple sunbird (Cinnyris asiaticus) is a small bird in the sunbird family. It occurs in parts of the Arabian peninsula and South and Southeast Asia. It has a fast and direct flight and can take nectar by hovering like a hummingbird but often perches at the base of flowers. It feeds mainly on nectar and insects, especially when feeding young. The males can appear all black in harsh sunlight but the purple iridescence is visible on closer observation or under good light conditions. Females are olive above and yellowish below.
The purple sunbird has a relatively short bill, a dark and short square ended tail with distinctive sexual dimorphism. Less than 10 cm (3.9 in) long they have a down-curved bill with brush-tipped tubular tongues that aid in nectar feeding. The male is glossy metallic bluish to purplish black on the upper parts with the wings appearing dark brown. The breeding male also has underparts of the same purplish black, but non-breeding males may show a central streak of black on yellow underparts. In the breeding plumage, the male can be confused with the syntopic Loten's sunbird which has a longer, more downcurved bill, lacks a supercilium, and has... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gir National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 2 | Bandhavgarh National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 3 | Keoladeo National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 4 | Yala National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 5 | Mudumalai National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 6 | Ranthambore National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 7 | Udawalawe National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 8 | Kanha National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 9 | Satpura National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 10 | Royal Bardia National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 11 | Bandipur National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 12 | Minneriya National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 13 | Nagarhole National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 14 | Wilpattu National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 15 | Jim Corbett National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 16 | Sundarbans National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 17 | Doi Inthanon National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 18 | Periyar National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 19 | Chitwan National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 20 | Manas National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 21 | Eravikulam National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 22 | Sinharaja Forest Reserve | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 23 | Kaziranga National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 24 | Horton Plains National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 25 | Kaeng Krachan National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 26 | Khao Yai National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Purple Sunbird sighting in Chennai on a given day, based on 1,681 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 38th most-seen of the 223 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January to March
In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Purple Sunbird in Chennai on a given day, against about 10% in July and October, the lowest months. Those are among Chennai's driest months, with about 10 mm of rain a month against 290 mm in November.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Purple Sunbird sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
61st of 76
Of the 76 cities where we can rate Purple Sunbird sightings, Chennai ranks 61st at about 20%. The best odds are in Jalandhar (India, about 90%), Raipur (India, about 80%) and Hyderabad (India, about 80%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Purple Sunbird is recorded against all the birds logged in Chennai (1,681 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
