- Cinnyris cupreus
Nectarinia cuprea
Identification
12–13 cm (4¾-5 in)
Male
- copper coloured head, nape and breast
- Dark blue forehead and chin
- Black wings
Distribution
Africa
Western Africa: Mauritania, Senegambia, Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Mali, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, DRC and Angola
Eastern Africa: Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Zambia, Mozambique and Malawi
Southern Africa: Namibia and Zimbabwe
Taxonomy
This is one of the many Sunbirds that have recently been moved to the genus Cinnyris from the genus Nectarinia.
Subspecies
There are 2 subspecies[1]:
- C. c. cupreus:
- C. c. chalceus:
Habitat
Mainly savannas, also wooded savannah-scrub, degraded forest, woodland, swamps, mangroves, coastal thickets and gardens.
Behaviour
Diet
Their main diet consists of nectar, fruit and insects (sometimes hawked aerially); also spiders.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2018. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2018. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Avibase
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved December 2018)
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Copper Sunbird. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 16 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Copper_Sunbird
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.
