Good news- the olive-backed sunbirds have left the nest safely! The two chicks flew away a few weeks ago, leaving the beautiful nest behind. We couldn’t catch it flying away, sadly- but I’m just so happy we saw them while nesting.
Just a few days before it left, I kept seeing Angel (the mother) taking a white piece from inside the nest. I found out that it was actually removing the poop from the two chicks! I caught on camera Angel taking the poop from the chick’s back, both on video and picture.
The little white ball you see is what is called a fecal sack. It is a mucous membrane that has the faeces of the chicks! Isn’t that really eco-friendly compared to a non-biodegradable diaper?
I really want to share more pictures of the feeding- so here are more shots of Angel feeding the hungry chicks:
Finally, here is a video which I have compiled that includes the feeding, the chicks waiting and the parents inspecting the nest, (and what I think is Angel flicking the ants of the nest and eating them):
My Nature Experiences 
Adorable! I wish I could have seen them.
Very nice!
There too was a sunbird couple that built their nest in my planter. Unfortunately, the chick’s tongue got stuck in the nest while climbing out for the first time. The father actually flew to another window and kinda screamed at me boldly. I know it was communicating with me because it was unusually loud and looked directly at me from a very close distance! I didn’t know these little birds are that intelligent.
I managed to free the chick and brought it to the vet in an attempt to save the poor thing but it died the same evening from a necrotic tongue. The parents returned several times after that and eventually destroyed the nest.
Earlier this month though, I discovered another couple started building their nest in almost the same spot!
Hi Micheal! Thank you so much for sharing your story about the sunbirds with me. They are incredibly intelligent when you observe them closely and everyday they come to our planter at around 5pm and chirp loudly for us to water the plants so they can leaf bathe! The chick’s death was very unfortunate. I do hope this new couple will have a positive and safe experience with their chicks! 🙂
Lol thanks. Mine come from 7+ to wake us up. I hope their chicks will do well. Need good light-hearted news… esp when the country is in grieving…