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There will always be vagrants but the vast majority are from species which migrate and not from sedentary species. The nearest resident population of Olive-backed Sunbird is Andaman and Nicobar Islands, some 1,000 miles away to the south-east, much of it over the sea.
Good example is California. We have one Northern Gannet still here after 3 or more years. Birds from the east are coming to the west. A few Tufted Ducks show up here. Blame it on the climate change.
No problem here either. There are many web sites, books and people who make these mistakes. You will find many instances where a single bird has been seen in a large country, such as India, or perhaps only occurs in one small area, but it gets put down as a bird that is found in India, Then a mapmaker comes along, sees it listed for India, and colour fills the whole of India and it gets put in a reputable book. The most reliable sources of records are the official records of the relevant bird organisation for the country concerned. They will have a listing of all records which have been officially ratified and those which have not been ratified. Many years ago Bangladesh was called East Pakistan which had previously been part of India, so it is quite possible that a single record from Bangladesh (the western extremity of its range) back when it was India could cause it to be listed under all 3 countries erroneously. There are many people who claim to commonly see birds where they have never been recorded, especially in places like Goa where there are many lookalikes and they will believe that they are right and the authorities are wrong, but that is rarely the case.
No problem I don't know how many times I did it. It is only a suggestion and sometimes helps narrow it down
Jellis and Malcolm, I am sorry for my invalid ID suggestion. I checked multiple websites that signified Olive-backed sunbirds were found in India. Must have been invalid. I've removed my ID suggestion and comments. Again, my apologies.
For more info on distribution:
http://www.hbw.com/species/purple-sunbir...
http://www.hbw.com/species/olive-backed-...
How do you get Olive-backed Sunbird in India? Remember, always check location before making an ID suggestion. There is only one Sunbird in the northern half of India (except the Himalayas) and that is Purple.
Spotted on Dec 6, 2015
Submitted on Dec 12, 2015
