This series has been brewing in my mind for a long time and had been starting to develop some bubbles of impatience, so I didn’t want to keep it in my head any further.

There’s a mind-boggling amount of wildlife that can be found in the city from birds to insects to small mammals, amphibians and reptiles. I’d like to learn more about them by illustrating and writing about them and hopefully, Dear Reader, you would look around you to find them. It’s an exciting world out there, full of magic and mysteries.

The first on my list is the Purple Sunbird.

Purple Sunbirds are most probably one of the first birds I learned the name of. Until then, every small bird was called a sparrow or a hummingbird(incidentally, we don’t have the latter in India). These birds are a little smaller than sparrows, have a shrill, squeaky call and usually have a lot to say.  They feed mostly on nectar, but also eat fruits and insects. They hang out in garrulous groups of two or more and are doing so right now outside my window.

We were once lucky to have its nest hanging from a tree in our garden.

A little note: The males and females are of the same size, unlike as shown in the picture.