Yellow-rumped Flowerpecker Prionochilus xanthopygius Scientific name definitions

9 cm; male 6·5–8·6 g, female 6·9–8·6 g, unsexed juveniles 6·5–8·2 g. Male has slate-blue head, back, upperwing and tail, red patch on crown , yellow rump; yellow below, orange patch on upper breast , white pectoral tufts (concealed), flanks olive and grey, undertail-coverts yellowish-white, underwing-coverts white; iris brown; bill and legs black. Female is duller than male, has blue-grey crown with very small dull orange-red patch, greenish-olive back, yellow rump; throat whitish, side of face grey, flanks olive-grey, undertail-coverts whitish, rest of underparts yellow, some orange on upper breast. Juvenile is similar to female, but more bluish-tinged grey above, uppertail-coverts olive, yellow of rump less distinct, upperwing and tail blackish-brown, wing feathers edged blue-grey; much greyer below, with almost no yellow; bill pale.

Borneo; also N Natuna Is (one record).

Dipterocarp forest, peatswamp-forest, heath and secondary forests, at forest edge, in plantations and clearings; sea-level to 1760 m.

No information.

Flowers, pollen, nectar, ripe fruit pulp , buds, also insects and spiders (Araneae). Frequently forages at low levels, but found in all storeys.

High-pitched chittering  in flight; other calls  are “tsee-oo”, first note rising and second one level, “ship-ship” or “ship-ship-ship”, “tsik-tsik”, which may be repeated rapidly, and 7–9 fast descending staccato notes.

Nesting in Apr in Kalimantan Barat and Jul and Aug in Kalimantan Tengah; in Sabah, nest-building in Feb, birds with enlarged gonads in Feb–Apr, Jun, Jul and Sept, and juveniles in Aug; fledgling in Oct in Sarawak. Nest a loosely felted pouch measuring c. 100 × 50 mm, lateral opening near top 35 × 18 mm, constructed from lichens and plant materials, including moss, attached to leaf stalk c. 1 m above ground. Eggs reddish-white with red, grey and purple markings. No other information.

Not globally threatened. Common and widespread throughout Borneo. Status in N Natunas uncertain; only one confirmed record. Occurs in several protected areas, e.g. Danum Valley Conservation Area, in Borneo.