Van Hasselt's Sunbird Leptocoma brasiliana Scientific name definitions

9–10 cm. Adult male nominate has crown and nape iridescent emerald-green, face, neck and mantle deep black and slightly glossy, back to uppertail-coverts iridescent viridian green, scapulars and lesser wing-coverts same, but larger wing-coverts and flight-feathers matt black, tail deep blue-black; chin and throat iridescent purple, breast rufous-maroon, becoming black at sides, and belly to undertail-coverts matt black; irides dark brown, bill and legs black. Female has head including crown, ear-coverts and neck grey-olive, darkest on cap, upperparts and lesser wing-coverts dull olive (i.e. greener than head), rest of wing-coverts sooty black with olive-green fringes and tips, flight-feathers sooty, also with olive-green edges, most rectrices black with bottle-green gloss, outermost pale olive; chin to undertail-coverts dull greyish olive tinged lemon-yellow. Juvenile is like female, but shows slight creamy-olive supercilium reaching just behind eye, and some individuals (presumed to be young males) display scattered brick-red tips to breast feathers; no information on bare-parts colours. Male differs from formerly conspecific L. sperata in having mantle black, rump and shoulder patch metallic purple-blue, breast and upper belly deep maroon-crimson, and rest of underparts sooty brown, female by being olive above with black tail, yellow below, brighter on belly. Races differ mainly in plumage coloration and pattern: <em>emmae</em> male differs from previous in having more bluish (rather than greenish) gloss on back; mecynorhyncha has much longer bill than nominate, male usually darker on lower underparts, female more greenish above and darker and duller below; eumecis is larger and has longer bill than nominate, female is lighter above and paler and more greenish below; axantha is similar to last but larger, female brighter and more yellowish above, darker and more olivaceous below.

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Insects, including caterpillars and aphids (Aphidoidea); also nectar , fruit and seeds, e.g. of Saraca thaipingensis, Justicia brandegeeana, Hibiscus sp. and probably Symphorema involucratum. Forages singly, in pairs or in small groups; sometimes in flocks of up to c. 30–40 individuals. Usually forages high, and hovers to take insects or water from leaves and nectar from flowers; also hangs from flowers to take nectar, and removes insects from spider webs.

Song “psweet, psweet, psweet, psweet, psweet, psweet…psit-it, psitit, psweet, psweet…” or “sip-sip-chup-tiddip-sip-chup-chup-sip-tiddip-chup…”, repeated irregularly, at rate of 2–3 notes/second. Calls include weak “chip chip”, sharp “si-si-si”, also “wheep”; double whistle, first note rising and second falling; high-pitched “tiswit…titwitwit”; flight call “chit chit chit chit”; also described for India are a piercing, thin, strongly upslurred “pswééét”, more subdued, staccato, quick, disyllabic “fut-chít”, and short, high trills.

Laying recorded in Feb–May in Bangladesh, Apr–May and Jul in Thailand, probably late Jan–May and Jul (nestbuilding seen late Feb, Apr, May, early Aug) in Malay Peninsula, and Jan and Mar–Jun on Java; fledglings early Jun in Singapore; on Borneo, laying recorded Sept and birds with active gonads Jan–Feb, Apr and Jun in N (Sabah), and juveniles in Aug in S. Nest globular, with side entrance near top, with or without “tail”, made from grass stems, epiphyte rootlets, fibres, leaves and cobwebs, lined with fibrous material, camouflaged with dry leaves, bark and small twigs, and screened by leaves, attached to branch (rubber, Acacia mangium) or tip of palm frond 1·5–10 m above ground; built exclusively by female. Clutch two eggs, variable, either brown with darker markings concentrated at larger end (captivity), or pinkish fawn with darker brown and grey markings, again concentrated at larger end (also captivity), or creamy white streaked reddish brown or purplish brown (Sabah), size 13·1–14·7 mm × 9·6–11 mm (nominate). No other information.

Not globally threatened (Least Concern). Generally rare in India (no recent records in Tripura, Mizoram or Manipur); common in E Bangladesh (Sylhet), mainly Oct to mid Jan, Locally common in Thailand, but uncommon in S; common and widespread on coast of Peninsular Malaysia, but local inland; generally uncommon in Greater Sundas. Reports of presence in extreme NE India (NE Arunachal Pradesh) are unsubstantiated. Occurs in several protected areas, e.g. Khao Pra Bang Wildlife Sanctuary, in Thailand, Cat Tien and Ba Be National Parks, in Vietnam; rare in Danum Valley Conservation Area, on Borneo, where also present in Similajau, Gunung Palung and Tanjung Puting National Parks.