page_title: Crimson-backed sunbird
section_title: Behaviour and ecology
hierarchical_section_title: Crimson-backed sunbird / Behaviour and ecology
caption_attribution_description: English: Small Sunbird (Leptocoma minima) nest, Wynaad, Kerala, India
context_page_description: The crimson-backed sunbird or small sunbird is a sunbird endemic to the Western Ghats of India. Like other sunbirds, they feed mainly on nectar although they take insects, especially to feed their young. They are tiny birds that are resident and are found in forests but are particularly attracted to gardens at the edge of the forest where people grow suitable flower-bearing plants. They usually perch while taking nectar.
context_section_description: The crimson-backed sunbird is an endemic resident breeder in the Western Ghats of India. The peak nesting season is December to March but has been known to nest in nearly all months of the year in the southern Western Ghats. Two eggs are laid in a suspended nest on a thin drooping branch of low tree, fern frond or shrub. Both the male and female take part in nest building with the interior mainly built by the female. The eggs are mainly incubated by the female but males may involve themselves in feeding the young. The incubation period is about 18–19 days.
  These birds are important pollinators of some plant species.
  Males establish and defend feeding territories on flower bearing shrubs and trees. Plants such as Helixanthera intermedia which had a lot of nectar were defended more vigorously. 
  Being small birds they may be killed by attack from insects like praying mantises too
  Although resident in many areas, they may make altitudinal movements in response to rains. In some areas they move to the foothills during the monsoons and move to the higher regions after the rains.
caption: The pendant nest is built under a fern or shrub and is covered in moss
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