Mrs. Gould's Sunbird Aethopyga gouldiae Scientific name definitions

Male 14–15 cm, 6·5–8 g; female 10 cm, 6·1 g. Relatively short-billed sunbird, male long-tailed. Male nominate race has metallic violet crown, ear-coverts, throat and patch on side of neck, crimson supercilium, side of head, neck, nape and back, bright yellow lower back, metallic purple-blue rump, uppertail-coverts and tail; lesser and median upperwing-coverts as upperparts, remainder of wing dark brown, broadly edged yellowish-olive on greater upperwing-coverts, tertials and secondaries, more narrowly on primaries; central tail feathers very long, outer feathers tipped buff; underparts yellow, usually streaked scarlet on breast, more olive on vent; iris dark brown, reddish-brown or crimson; bill dark brown, lower mandible paler, or all blackish; legs dark brown, soles paler. Female has head and nape grey tinged olive, upperparts olive, olive-grey, or mixed grey, olive and yellow, rump yellow or yellowish; graduated tail tipped whitish; throat pale grey, underparts yellow or yellowish-grey. Juvenile is as female, but greener above, brighter yellow below, tail less graduated and with tips less white, pale lower mandible; subadult male as female, but has patches of red above, blue rump, longish metallic tail, grey throat and brighter yellow below. Race <em>dabryii</em> male has breast scarlet, crown and throat variable from lilac-purple to blue; isolata male has paler yellow on back and breast than nominate, generally purple (not purple-blue) gloss, and central rectrices more violet-blue; <em>annamensis</em> male has crown and throat more lilac-purple, lacks yellow on rump, and has scarlet on side of breast , female differs from nominate in more saturated yellow lower breast and belly, and yellow of rump extending onto lower back and uppertail-coverts.

Editor's Note: This article requires further editing work to merge existing content into the appropriate Subspecies sections. Please bear with us while this update takes place.

Editor's Note: Additional distribution information for this taxon can be found in the 'Subspecies' article above. In the future we will develop a range-wide distribution article.

Various forest types, including oak (Quercus) forest, ridgetop forest and conifers, scrub-jungle; 1200–4270 m when breeding, 330–2700 m in winter.

Seasonal altitudinal movements in higher parts of range; some post-breeding movement in NE India from E Nagaland and W China to Manipur and N Cachar and to Myanmar. Movement from one mountain to another recorded in N Thailand. Total of 250 birds seen moving N in a Nov morning along Gaoligongshan ridge in W Yunnan, China. Recorded as vagrant in NE Pakistan and Hong Kong.

Nectar , spiders (Araneae) and insects. Forages at all levels, typically among lower branches and undergrowth; often at mistletoes (Loranthaceae) and rhododendrons (Rhododendron).

Song described as a powerful, sharply seesawing sound. Calls include sharp scissors-like “tzit-tzit”, sometimes quickly repeated; alarm “tshi-stshi-ti-ti-ti”; “squeeeee”, rising in middle.

Season mid-Mar to mid-Jun in Nepal and Apr–Aug in India. Nest pear-shaped or oval, 14 × 7 cm, entrance with reinforced rim about two-thirds way up, made from vegetable down, fibrous material, green moss, grass shreds and cobweb, lined with soft cotton down, and suspended from fern or twig low in bush or bramble (Rubus). Clutch 2 or 3 eggs, white, freckled with pale reddish-brown, slightly more numerous at larger end; no information on incubation and nestling periods. Nests parasitized by Asian Emerald Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx maculatus).

Not globally threatened. Generally uncommon in India, but locally common in E; widespread but uncommon in Nepal; frequent in Bhutan ; not uncommon in Myanmar. Possibly only a vagrant in Bangladesh. Occurs in a number of protected areas, e.g. Doi Inthanon National Park, in Thailand, and Foping Panda Reserve, in China.