A Naturalist's Diary : 5

I have been chasing after the sunbirds. The previous occasion was far, far away. On this occasion, however, I have a new gem to pursue, the Crimson Sunbird (Aethopyga siparaja). The sub-species here is seheriae. And thus I have stood for many hours watching them flit and feed either on the honeysuckle near the reception or on the red hibiscus near the dining hall. I soon notice that the male Purple Sunbird (Nectarina asiatica) is very aggressive when it comes to seeing off other males from his patch. I had not noticed this in my earlier tryst with their cousin, N. zeylonica in Coorg. What started as an interesting observation soon developed into a sense of frustration as I was particularly keen on capturing the ruby-like siparaja. But every time siparaja would appear to claim his share of nectar, along would come the smaller asiatica in high dudgeon and drive off siparaja in a flurry of furious purple and red wing beats. They wind, weave, and feint furiously across the gardens, narrowly missing the watchman's head, two mortal enemies, each of whom seems determined to wreak havoc on the other.

Asiatica is no different with others of his ilk and sees off other male Purple Sunbirds with equal vigour.

It has been one of those days without electricity and I have spent my time with Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall set in Henry Tudor's England where, according to the blurb-writers, "man is wolf to man." Apparently the blurb-writers do not read the daily newspapers.