Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker
(Dicaeum cruentatum)

Scientific Name: Dicaeum cruentatum

Malay Name: Sepah-Puteri Belakang Merah
Chinese Name: 朱背啄花鸟

Range:
Found from the Himalayan foothills to Southern China, mainland Southeast Asia, Sumatra and Borneo.

Taxonomy:
Polytypic. Subspecies are: cruentatum, sumatranum, niasense, batuense, simalurense, nigrimentum.

Local Subspecies: cruentatum

Size: 8.5-9 cm

Identification:
Male looks distinctive with bright red upperparts, blackish head-/breast-sides and blue-blackish wings contrasting with the mostly white underparts. Female is a drab brown with a bright red rump and uppertail-coverts. Juvenile resembles female but has a red-pink based lower mandible and uniform upperparts with orange-tinged uppertail-coverts.

Habitat: Parks, gardens, wooded areas, secondary growth and forest edge.

Behaviour/Ecology: Feeds on flowers and fruits

Local Status: Common resident

Conservation Status: Least Concern (BirdLife International 2016)

Location: Suitable habitats like Bidadari, Singapore Botanic Gardens, Chinese/Japanese Gardens, Pasir Ris Park, Sungei Buloh, Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, Bukit Batok Nature Park and Central Catchment Forest.

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Tue 22 Feb 2022.

SINGAPORE - 22 FEB 2022: Lentor St Playground. A 9-cm bird eating seeds. This is the Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker(Dicaeum cruentatum), said to be common in Singapore.

This sparrow-size bird with iridescent red and blue colours posed for a few seconds today 22-02-2022. 22022022 reads the same from left to right, from right to left and upside down. The date is a palindrome and an ambigram. A rare species in Lentor Street Playground.

UPDATES AT:
https://2010vets.blogspot.com/2022/02/4098-rare-sparrow-sized-bird-with.html

Got a photo of a rare sparrow-sized bird on a tree in Lentor Street Playground this morning. I was photographing the leaves (red and green) when this rare bird with irridescent red and blue feathers dropped by and posed for me for a few seconds. Today is 2nd day Grandma is negative for Covid-19 ART. Today is Tue 22 Feb 2022 - 22022022 which is a palindrome and an ambigram - a rare occurrence in calendars. An auspicious day?

Is the bird below a red-crowned barbet?