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Sighting of Purple-throated-, or Van Hasselt’s Sunbird
Leptocoma sperata brasiliana
in Karimganj District,
Assam, with notes on its status in India
Vijay Anand Ismavel & Praveen J.
Ismavel, V. A., & Praveen J., 2015. Sighting of Purple-throated-, or Van Hasselt’s Sunbird Leptocoma sperata brasiliana in Karimganj District, Assam, with notes on its status in
India. Indian BIRDS 10 (3& 4): 104 –108.
Vijay Anand Ismavel, Makunda Christian Hospital, Karimganj District 788727, Assam, India. Email: ivijayanand@yahoo.in [VAI]
Praveen J., B-303, Shriram Spurthi, ITPL Main Road, Brokefields, Bengaluru 560037, Karnataka, India. Email: paintedstork@gmail.com [PJ]
Manuscript received on 03 April 2015.
The Purple-throated Sunbird Leptocoma sperata is a wide-
ranging South-east Asian species distributed through
the Philippines, the Sunda Islands, the Malaya Peninsula,
and Myanmar, reaching the extreme south-eastern parts of
South Asia (Cheke & Mann 2008). Regionally occurring, Van
Hasselt’s Sunbird L. s. brasiliana is sometimes regarded as a
separate species, distinct from the races found in the Philippines
(Rasmussen & Anderton 2012). The species is considered local,
or rare, in India, common in eastern Bangladesh (Sylhet), mainly
from the month of October till the middle of January (Cheke &
Mann 2008). Rasmussen & Anderton (2012) list it as a resident
in the lower parts of the hills of southern Assam (north and
south Cachar), and eastern Bangladesh (Sylhet, Tippera, and
Chittagong).
This article describes the sighting, accompanied by
photographs, of one male Van Hasselt’s Sunbird from Karimganj
District, Assam, in north-eastern India, along with a probable
female. Here we also analyse past records of this species and
clarify several ambiguities in terms of locations that may or may
not fall within present day India.
Observations & Identification
On 15 March 2015, VAI, along with a group of three staff members
of the Nature Club of Makunda Christian Hospital, Bazaricherra,
Karimganj District, and a few local villagers went into the forests
for biodiversity documentation. This involved a trek through thick
forest for about 10 kms from the nearest human habitation,
Srirampur village, close to Dullabcherra town in Karimganj District,
to reach the site of observation (24.39ºN, 92.37ºE). At about
0830 hrs, several birds were spotted feeding on a large blossom-
filled shrub, probably Symphorema involucratum; most of the
birds flew away when approached, but two sunbirds continued
to feed on the blossoms. One of them had an iridescent green
crown; seven photographs were taken of this bird before it flew
away [79-84]. Unfortunately, the camera’s settings had not been
changed (after photographing a moth), and the bird was also very
active, consequently most of the photos were not sharp. Since
the bird had a metallic green crown, it was assumed that the
bird was the locally common Ruby-cheeked Sunbird Chalcoparia
singalensis. The party then heard calls of the hoolock gibbon
Hoolock hoolock, and moved quickly to see those endangered
primates.
79. Purple-throated Sunbird L. sperata showing ir idescent green crown of the male.
80. Lateral view of the male Purple-throated Sunbird.
104 Indian BIRDS Vol. 10 No. 3&4 (Publ. 29 August 2015)
Upon returning, VAI processed the images and found that
the bird was a Van Hasselt’s Sunbird. The bird had the distinctive
maroon coloured breast and under parts, iridescent purple
coloured throat, apart from a green crown. One sharp image
was obtained of the female sunbird. The picture showed a white
eye-ring, yellowish throat and under parts, and a short bill; all
congruent with a typical female of this species. The photographs
were posted to the Oriental Bird Pix Google Group and Krys
confirmed the identity of the male bird (Krys, pers. comm., email
dated 16 March 2015); the images have since been accepted
into the OBI database. It is very likely that the female was also of
that species as they were a calling pair.
Discussion
While most references appear to indicate that this species is
distributed, at least, over most of present day Tripura, southern
Assam, and parts of Manipur, and Mizoram, there appear to
81. Purple-thro ated Sunbird show ing iridescent purple of throat and maroon of upper belly.
83. Top view of head and upper breast of male Purple-throated Sunbird.
82. Dorsal view of black with glo ssy blue tail of male Purple -throated Sunbird.
84. Olive upper part s, yellow lower parts and faint eye ring of female Purple-thro ated Sunbird.
105
IsmAVel & PrAVeeN : Purple-throated Sunbird
be a paucity of actual records to support those claims. Neither
are there any photographs taken from India, nor are there any
recent records of this species from the country. Authors seem to
have freely quoted each other without realising that some of the
territories mentioned by historical workers have been split after
Indian independence, and during the reorganisation of Indian
states, such that records from the erstwhile regions of “Assam”,
“Sylhet”, and “Tippera”, require closer scrutiny before they can be
accepted as definite for India.
The political histories of Sylhet- (Bangladesh), which borders
Assam (India), and Comilla- Districts (Bangladesh), which
borders Tripura (India), are of interest here, along with the history
of the Barak Valley of Assam, and the state of Tripura. Whilst India
was a colony of the British, post 1857, the territories of Assam
province included those of present day Sylhet. Subsequently,
following the Partition of Bengal (1905–1911), Assam and East
Bengal became a single large province. Following a referendum
in July 1947, the erstwhile district of Sylhet became part of
erstwhile East Pakistan, except for the Karimganj subdivision,
which became a part of the Cachar District of Assam in India. In
1983, Cachar District was trifurcated into Cachar-, Hailakandi-,
and Karimganj- Districts.
Tripura became a princely state during British rule in India; its
kings had an estate in the plains and an independent area in the
hills. Following India’s independence in 1947, the plains estate,
known as Plains Tippera (or just Tippera or Tipperah), became
the Comilla District of Bangladesh. Hill Tippera (or Tipperah)
remained under a Regency Council till 1949 when it became
the Tripura state of India. Hence, prior to 1905, when most of
the specimens were taken, the district of Karimganj was a part
of Sylhet, and not Cachar. The entire Sylhet District was a part of
Assam, and Comilla District was called Tippera.
About sixteen museum specimens of this species from
South Asia were located in the collections of Natural History
Museum, London (BMNH), Bombay Natural History Society
(BNHS), Cornell University Museum of Vertebrates (CUMV),
Field Museum of Natural History (FMNH), Royal Ontario
Museum (ROM), University Museum of Zoology, Cambridge
(UMZC), and Yale Peabody Museum (YPM) (Table 1). Just four
of them are labelled ‘India’. The most recent collections from
South Asia were by R. A. Paynter, in 1958, from Sylhet, and the
Chittagong Hill Tracts in Bangladesh. A. M. Primrose contributed
six specimens from Rema Tea Estate in southern Sylhet (now
in Bangladesh). Primrose (1902), who was stationed there,
indicated that this species is exceedingly common between
October and January. C. M. Inglis contributed the remaining
southern Sylhet specimens. Since Sylhet was a part of Assam
ante 1905, the FMNH specimen is apparently labelled “Assam,
India”, while the BMNH specimen also mentions “Assam”. These
should now be treated as though from Sylhet, Bangladesh. A.
O. Hume indicates that the species appears in “the Arracan
Hills, Chittagong, and Hill Tipperah, where I have obtained it,
and whence many specimens were sent me long ago by the
late Mr. Irwin” (Hume & Davison 1878). Hume (1970) indicates
having received a single specimen of this species from Irwin
who sent specimens of many other species from Tipperah
[not Hill Tipperah], and possibly Hume has muddled these two
entities and also the total number of specimens he received
of this species. BMNH specimen labelled “Commillah (?),
Tipperah” in the Hume Collection is possibly the one supplied
by Valentine1. Major H. H. Godwin-Austen, during his surveys
in the hills south of the Brahmaputra, which included present
day Tripura, did not come across this species but mentions a
specimen contributed by Mr. Ross Mangles from Tripura [=Hill
Tippera] (Godwin-Austen 1874). This specimen is now in BMNH
and should count as the first for the country (authors’ italics).
A specimen exists in the private collection of Frank S, Wright,
collected in 1894, and contributed to CUMV in 1939 (CUMV:
14548), which was collected from Cachar (wrongly attributed to
Manipur state). Though the other specimen in the same series
(#14551) is labelled ‘Bangladesh’, and the provenance of these
specimens is not fully established, Cachar has always been in
India, and hence this should count as the only other specimen
for the country. Two of the specimens labelled ‘India’ (UMZC 27/
Nec/5/III/1, and YPM ORN 011654), and one labelled ‘Assam’
(BMNH 1886.12.1.811), lack more precise collection-locality
data. However, all specimens are definitely from either late
nineteenth- or early twentieth centuries; those that may have
been collected from areas that are in present day Bangladesh,
cannot be considered valid for India.
Subsequent compilations of Indian ornithology have mostly
depended on these nineteenth- and early twentieth century
specimens to chalk out the species’ range. Oates (1890)
has nothing new to say except that Godwin-Austen obtained
Date Location Collector/Collection Code
1846 India Strickland Collection. Collected by Blyth UMZC 27/Nec/5/III/1
1869 Commillah (?), Tipperah Hume Collection. Probably collected by I. Valentine BM NH 18 86 .12.1.747
Undated India Collected by W. F. Rosenberg YPM ORN 011654
May 1873 Assam In Hume Collection. Collected by H. C. Parker. BM NH 18 86 .12.1.811
Pre-1874 Hill Tipperah In Godwin-Austen Collection. Collected by R. Mangles BMNH 1895.7.14.2606
03 July 1894 Cachar, Manipur, India In F. S. Wright Collection CUMV:14548
Undated Bangladesh In F. S. Wright Collection CUMV:14551
08 October 1900 Rema Tea Estate, Bangladesh Collected by A. M. Primrose BNHS: 9559
10 October 1900 South Sylhet, Bangladesh Collected by C. M. Inglis BNHS: 9657
September 1901 Rema or Kowai, Sylhet, Assam, India In H. K. Coale Collection. Collected by A. M. Primrose FMNH:98616
October 1901 Rema Tea Estate, Luckerpore Valley, South Sylhet, Assam In H. Whistler Collection. Collected by A .M. Primrose BMNH:1949.
Whi.1.5625
12 October 1901 Rema Tea Estate, Bangladesh Collected by A. M. Primrose BNHS: 9658
02 September 1902 Rema, Sylhet, Bangladesh Collected by A. M. Primrose YPM ORN 043413-14
October 1902 Rema Tea Estate, Luckerpore Valley, South Sylhet, Bangladesh Collected by A. M. Primrose ROM:56324
24 February 1958 Rangamati, Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh Collected by R. A. Paynter YPM ORN 088041
29 April, 03 & 07 May 1958 Baramchal, Sylhet, Bangladesh Collected by R. A. Paynter YPM ORN 088042-44
1 Irwin Valentine was then the Co llector of Tipperah. He also served as Commissioner of
Manipur and is also believed to have introduce d polo in the British Isles when he returned in
1865 (Laffaye 2009).
106 Indian BIRDS Vol. 10 No. 3&4 (Publ. 29 August 2015)
specimens from Tippera, and that Hume recorded it from there,
as well as in Chittagong. However, this already diluted two fine
details – rather than he himself collecting, Godwin-Austen was
supplied a specimen by another collector (see above), and that
it came from Hill Tippera [not Tippera]. Baker (1926) lists its
range as Assam, Tippera, Chittagong, Manipur, and Mizoram
[=Lushai] with an additional comment that it is “very rare in
Assam but straggles into Cachar and Sylhet on the south and
to Lakhimpur on the north of the Brahmaputra”. It is unclear on
what basis Baker claims the record from Lakhimpur, Manipur,
and Mizoram as there have been no previous publications
or specimens from those areas. Most likely they were his
observations, largely unsubstantiated, and generally treated with
caution (Rasmussen & Anderton 2012). It is unclear whether
Baker was aware of the Cachar specimen, even though he must
have been referring to Oates when listing Tippera; Oates himself
should have correctly written Hill Tippera. Ali & Ripley (2001)
add Dibrugrah, Silchar, and Hailakandi into the Indian range with
no further substantiation; however, they rightly gives the range
in Bangladesh as “south Sylhet, Comilla, Chittagong and down to
Cox’s Bazaar”. It appears that Lakhimpur of Baker (1926) is what
is referred to as Dibrugarh by Ali & Ripley (2001). Rasmussen
& Anderton (2012) repeat Ali & Ripley for the range statement
for Bangladesh but explicitly state north and south Cachar, giving
an impression that there are multiple established records from
Cachar. However, they caution that the “NE Arunachal report
needs substantiation”. It is unclear as to which “NE Arunachal
report” they are referring to, perhaps the Lakhimpur reference of
Baker (1926). It may be noted that Lakhimpur, and Dibrugarh
have always been in Assam!
In recent years, forests in Bangladesh, adjoining the Barak
Valley, appear to be better worked in terms of ornithology than
the hills in southern Assam. The sunbird is listed as a common
resident in the evergreen forests of Chittagong- and Sylhet
divisions in Bangladesh (Siddiqui et al. 2008; Khan & Aziz
2012). As per recent information, it is an uncommon resident
in most of the eastern forests in Bangladesh and has been
confirmed from 14 forest sites / protected areas in that country.
Many of these sites are along the southern to eastern fringes
of Greater Sylhet (e.g., Moulvi Bazar District), and largely close
to the northern border of Tripura, with the closest location to
Assam being Madhabkunda (24.64°N, 92.22°E) on the far east
of Moulvi Bazar District. Other sites are in the forests of the
Chittagong region, through the hill tracts, to Cox’s Bazar area.
(Paul Thompson, in email dated 18 March 2015). An online
search in the Birds Bangladesh Facebook group provided at least
half a dozen clear pictures of males of this species, indicating
that it is a fairly widespread species in appropriate habitats of that
region, and well-known to bird-watchers.
Contrary to this, there are no records in recent times from
Tripura, Mizoram, or Manipur. People who frequent hills south
of the Brahmaputra have not seen this species (Shashank Dalvi,
verbally, March 2015; T. R. Shankar Raman, in litt., email dated 16
March 2015). Choudhury (2005, 2009, 2010) lists this species
in the state checklists of Mizoram, Manipur, and Tripura but cites
Ali & Ripley (2001) as his source. Males of this species have
been recorded three or four times (undated) from the southern
part of Hailakandi- and Cachar Districts of southern Assam during
1986–1988 (Anwaruddin Choudhury, in litt., email dated 04
May 2015). It is quite likely that the species is regular in some of
the forests in Tripura that are close to the Bangladesh border as
this is common in the adjoining tracts in Bangladesh. However,
this shows how little we know of the ornithology of some
regions in the hills south of Brahamaputra. In the absence of
any verifiable evidence, we propose that this species be deleted
from the checklists of Manipur, and Mizoram until fresh evidence
is presented. Its distribution range in India should, at best, be
limited to Tripura, and Cachar, and that too based on just three
verifiable records, including the present one.
While the hotspots in the Eastern Himalayas, and the
Brahmaputra Valley are heavily visited by amateurs and
professionals, there is hardly any recent systematic avian
documentation from the Barak Valley, comprising of the extant
districts of Karimganj, Hailakandi, and Cachar. The location of
the above observation is also rumoured to be near hideouts of
militants, and is therefore not a popular place for birding. Active
conservation work is largely unknown in states like Tripura where
natural vegetation is fast depleting. The absence of mega-rarities
does not help in focusing on the area, but that does not detract
from the fact that several species present only in the south-eastern
parts of north-eastern India can be found here. VAI has recorded
species confined to hills south of the Brahmaputra, like Olive
Bulbul Iole virescens (http://orientalbirdimages.org/images/
data/karimganj_birds139b.jpg), and Stripe-breasted Woodpecker
Dendrocopos atratus (http://orientalbirdimages.org/search.
php?p=11&Bird_ID=239&Bird_Family_ID=&pagesize=1) from
different locations in the district. It is possible that Orange-bellied
Flowerpecker Dicaeum trigonostigma also occurs here. The
forests are being actively cleared and it is imperative that the
remaining biodiversity be assessed and conservation imperatives
identified. Whilst the local tribal community is dependent on
forest resources for their livelihoods, there are many non-local
immigrants who are involved in the large scale felling of trees,
and in the trapping, and poaching of wildlife. If local biodiversity
turns popular amongst tourists, it is possible to use the local
communities to protect the forests in return for a livelihood
through eco-tourism.
Acknowledgements
VAI wishes to thank Bijen Singha, Nahum Misra and Basanta Fulmali from the Nature
Club of Makunda Christian Hospital as well as several villagers from Srirampur village
who accompanied him on this trek. Paul Thompson kindly provided us with the recent
status in Bangladesh. Robert Prŷs-Jones (BMNH), Michael Brooke (UMZC), Rahul Khot
(BNHS), Charles M. Dardia (CUMV), Brad Millen (ROM) and John Bates (FMNH)
provided us quick search results in their respective museum catalogues and our sincere
thanks to them for this help. We would like to thank Krys for confirming the ID of
the species and Maan Barua, Anwaruddin Choudhury Shashank Dalvi and T.R. Shankar
Raman, for helping with the research and discussing this topic.
References
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107
IsmAVel & PrAVeeN : Purple-throated Sunbird
Some important photographic records from Gujarat
Rajni Trivedi
Trivedi, R., 2015. Some important photographic records from Gujarat. Indian BIRDS 10 (3& 4): 108–110.
Rajni Trivedi, 22/C, Mangaldeep Apartments, Jodhpur Gam Road, Satellite, Ahmedabad 380 015, Gujarat, India. E-mail: rajnitrivedi1950@gmail.com.
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A
total of 536 species of birds were recorded from Gujarat
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85. Eurasian Bittern Botaurus stellaris photographed on 07 April 2009. 86. Litt le Bittern Ixobr ychus minutus.
Photos : R. Trivedi
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108 Indian BIRDS Vol. 10 No. 3&4 (Publ. 29 August 2015)
