From Opus

Male Southern Double-collared Sunbird
Photo by Mybs
Kirstenbosch, near Cape Town, South Africa

Cinnyris chalybeus

Nectarinia chalybea

Lesser Double-collared Sunbird

[edit] Identification

Length 12 cm, mass 8 g. Sexually dimorphic. Male: Head, back, rump, throat and upper breast iridecent green. Wings iridecent green with dark brown flight feathers. Upper tail coverts iridescent blue. Upper breast band very narrow and iridescent blue; lower breast band red. Lower breast and belly grey.
Female: Grey-brown, with faint olive wash on mantle and wing coverts, and olive-yellow tinge on belly, flanks and vent. Tail brownish black.

[edit] Distribution

South Africa, Swaziland and extreme southern Namibia.

[edit] Taxonomy

Female Southern Double-collared Sunbird.
Photo by Alan Manson
Pietermaritzburg, South Africa

Most of the Sunbirds (including this one) of the genus Nectarinia have recently been moved into the genus Cinnyris.

Recently split from Miombo Double-collared Sunbird Cinnyris manoensis.

There are two subspecies:^[2]

• C. c. chalybeus

• extreme southern Namibia south to the south-western Cape, east to the Fish River in the Eastern Cape
• includes C. c. albilateralis which is recognised by Clements^[1] (south-western Cape)

• C. c. subalaris

• from the Fish River north to the Soutpansberg
• red breast band broader than that of nominate

[edit] Habitat

Fynbos and Karoo shrublands, woodland, forest, forest edge, gardens and plantations.

[edit] Behaviour

Forages at all levels in canopy, mainly for nectar, but also invertebrates.

[edit] References

1. Clements, JF. 2009. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2009. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/Clements%206.4.xls/view.
2. Hockey, PAR, WRJ Dean, and PG Ryan, eds. 2005. Roberts' Birds of Southern Africa. 7th ed. Cape Town: John Voelcker Bird Book Fund. ISBN 978-0620340533

• List of references

[edit] External Links