Description
These birds are tiny (9 cm long) and there is no marked difference between the males and females. The nominate race is found in hill forests of the Western Ghats and Nilgiri hills of southern India. This population is separated widely from the other populations in Southeast Asia. This subspecies is pale brown on the upperside and the underside is whitish. The whitish brow in front of the eye is wider than in Dicaeum erythrorhynchos. This subspecies has been raised to full species by Pamela Rasmussen. The subspecies found in northeastern India, extending into Myanmar, Laos and southern China is called olivaceum by earlier authors but is treated by Rasmussen as a separate species Dicaeum minullum (which includes the population minullum from Hainan Island and is now termed as the Plain Flowerpecker in the more restricted sense). This is very olive above and the black bill is finer and slightly curved. The population found in the Andaman Islands virescens is also considered a separate species Dicaeum virescens (the Andaman Flowerpecker) in the newer treatment. This is bright olive-green on the upperside with dark speckling on the crown. The centre of the belly has a bright patch of pale yellow. Other populations include borneanum of Peninsular Malaysis, Sumatra and Borneo, uchidai of Taiwan and sollicitans from the islands of Java.
Read more about this topic: Nilgiri Flowerpecker
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