18 December 2019

Kuwait's 4th Purple Sunbird

Week 49; 07 December 2019 - Abu Hassania

My good friend Neil Tovey went to pick up his daughter from a party at a house which had a mature garden. Imagine his dis-belief when he finds Kuwait's 4th Purple Sunbird feeding on a flowering non-native Yellow Trumpetbush just inside the gate.

Neil got the news out, but since it was a private residence, we needed to request permission to come and see it.

I was able to get down the next day in the late afternoon which was cloudy and drizzly. As it turns out, it is only 800m from where I stay as the Crow flies.

I waited an hour without success, when suddenly it arrived, but departed as quickly as it arrived. Only 15-minutes later did it return and stay for a little longer and I managed to get a series of images of this smart eclipse male in really poor light


Male Purple Sunbird (Cinnyris asiaticus) in eclipse plumage






On 17/12/19 a visiting international birder confirmed that there was not one, but two birds present, with the second being a female bird - a pair?

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