CreatureData

Fire-tailed sunbird

Aethopyga ignicauda (Hodgson, 1836)

LCLeast Concernsongbirds

The fire-tailed sunbird (Aethopyga ignicauda) is a species in the family Nectariniidae, order Passeriformes. Recorded adults weigh 8.2 g to 8.23 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Fire-tailed sunbird (Aethopyga ignicauda)
Photo: John Gould & Henry C. Richter · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the fire-tailed sunbird

Weight
8.2 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Nectarivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
forestsrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
2src for Young per litter or clutch
Lifestyle
Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Sedentarysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the fire-tailed sunbird live?

Not recorded

What is the fire-tailed sunbird?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The fire-tailed sunbird (Aethopyga ignicauda) is a species of sunbird in the family Nectariniidae.

It is found in the northern parts of the Indian subcontinent, primarily in the Himalayas, and also in some adjoining regions in Southeast Asia. The species occurs in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand and Tibet.

Its natural habitats are temperate forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.

Breeding males have a scarlet nape and mantle, and a yellow-orange breast and an olive-green belly. They develop a long scarlet tail, and including the tail are about 15 cm long; females are about two-thirds that length. Females have a grey-olive head and throat, and a yellow belly. Females are differentiated from the similar female green-tailed sunbird by a straighter bill, squarer tail (lacking white tips and with trace of brownish orange on the sides) and mor noticeable olive-yellow on the rump. Eclipse males are similar to females but have brighter yellow bellies, scarlet uppertail coverts, and scarlet tail sides. They live in conifer forests at altitudes up to 4,000 meters, descending into the valleys during the cold season, wintering in broadleaved forests. They eat insects, and also nectar. They breed in rhododendron shrub. Both parents take part in feeding the young.

From the Wikipedia article “Fire-tailed sunbird” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fire-tailed_sunbird&oldid=1367021591), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the fire-tailed sunbird endangered?

The fire-tailed sunbird is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.

How is the fire-tailed sunbird classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderPasseriformes
  5. familyNectariniidae
  6. genusAethopyga
  7. SpeciesAethopyga ignicauda (Hodgson, 1836)

Synonyms Aethopyga ignicauda exultans, Cinnyris ignicauda

Other names and names in other languages (31)
  • suimanga cua de focCatalan
  • strdimil plamenoocasýCzech
  • aderyn haul cynffon-gochWelsh
  • Flammehalet SolfuglDanish
  • FeuerschwanznektarvogelGerman
  • Feuerschwanz-NektarvogelGerman
  • fajrovosta nektarinioEsperanto
  • Suimanga colafuegoSpanish
  • tulipyrstömedestäjäFinnish
  • Souimanga queue-de-feuFrench
  • vatrorepi medosasCroatian
  • tűzfarkú nektármadárHungarian
  • Nettarinia codaflammeaItalian
  • アカオタイヨウチョウJapanese
  • ryškioji smailiauodegė nektarinukėLithuanian
  • sarkanastes nektārputnsLatvian
  • ildhalesolfuglNorwegian Bokmål
  • VuurstaarthoningzuigerDutch
  • ildstjertsolfuglNorwegian
  • kwiatownik ognistosternyPolish
  • beija-flor-cauda-de-fogoPortuguese
  • nectarínia-cauda-de-fogoPortuguese
  • Огненнохвостая нектарницаRussian
  • Яркая острохвостая нектарницаRussian
  • nektárovka ohnivochvostáSlovak
  • rödstjärtad solfågelSwedish
  • นกกินปลีแดงหัวไพลินThai
  • Sangihe NektarkuşuTurkish
  • сіпарая гімалайськаUkrainian
  • 火尾太阳鸟Chinese
  • 火尾太陽鳥Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the fire-tailed sunbird

Other species in the same genus Aethopyga.

CompareFire-tailed sunbird vs Crimson sunbirdFire-tailed sunbird vs Mrs. Gould's sunbirdFire-tailed sunbird vs Green-tailed sunbirdFire-tailed sunbird vs Black-throated sunbird

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the fire-tailed sunbird?

An adult fire-tailed sunbird weighs 8.2 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the fire-tailed sunbird endangered?

The fire-tailed sunbird is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

What kind of animal is the fire-tailed sunbird?

The fire-tailed sunbird (Aethopyga ignicauda) belongs to the family Nectariniidae in the order Passeriformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Fire-tailed sunbird (Aethopyga ignicauda). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/fire-tailed-sunbird

MLA

“Fire-tailed sunbird (Aethopyga ignicauda).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/fire-tailed-sunbird.

BibTeX
@misc{fire_tailed_sunbird_2026,
  title = {Fire-tailed sunbird (Aethopyga ignicauda)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/fire-tailed-sunbird},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}