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Difference between revisions of "Malachite Sunbird" - BirdForum Opus

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(Attempt to disguise copied text. Clearer image of male and a female added. Attempt to disguise copied text. All sections now started)
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[[Category:Nectarinia]]
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[[Image:Malachite sunbird5.jpg|thumb|550px|right|Male<br />Photo by {{user|nick+scarle|Nick Scarle}}<br />Vanrhynsdorp, [[South Africa]], August 2016]]
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;[[:Category:Nectarinia|Nectarinia]] famosa
 
;[[:Category:Nectarinia|Nectarinia]] famosa
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[[Image:Malachite_Sunbird.jpg|thumb|550px|right|Photo by Mybs]]
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==Identification==
 
==Identification==
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25 cm long, and the shorter-tailed female 15 cm. Metallic green when breeding, with black-green wings, small yellow pectoral patches. In non-breeding plumage, the male’s upperparts are brown apart from the green wings and tail, the latter retaining the elongated feathers. The underparts in eclipse plumage are yellow, flecked with green.
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Male 24–27 cm (9½-10½ in); female 13–15 cm (5-6 in)<br />
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'''Male'''
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*Bright metallic green plumage
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*Blackish-green wings
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*Small yellow pectoral patches
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*Elongated tail feathers<br />
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'''Male non-breeding'''
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*Brown upperparts
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*Green wings and tail
  
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The female has brown upperparts and dull yellow underparts with some indistinct streaking on the breast. Her tail is square-ended. The juvenile resembles the female.
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*Yellow underparts with green flecks in eclipse plumage
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[[Image:22588Malachite Sunbird 2 Female .jpg|thumb|350px|right|Female<br />Photo by {{user|louisdup|louisdup}}<br />Eersterivier, [[South Africa]], August 2005]]
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'''Female'''
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*Brown upperparts
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*Dull yellow underparts with some indistinct breast streaking
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*Square-ended tail
  
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'''Juvenile''': similar to the female
  
 
==Distribution==
 
==Distribution==
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[[South Africa]], [[Lesotho]], western [[Swaziland]], [[Ethiopia]] and [[Mozambique]].
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[[Africa]]:<br />
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'''Western Africa''': occurs only in the [[Democratic Republic of Congo]]
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'''Eastern Africa''': [[Sudan]], [[South Sudan]], [[Ethiopia]], [[Kenya]], [[Uganda]], [[Rwanda]], [[Burundi]], [[Tanzania]], [[Zambia]], [[Mozambique]], [[Malawi]]<br />
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'''Southern Africa''': [[Namibia]], [[Zimbabwe]], [[South Africa]], [[KwaZulu-Natal]], [[Lesotho]], [[Swaziland]]
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==Taxonomy==
 
==Taxonomy==
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====Subspecies====
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There are 2 subspecies<sup>[[#References|[1]]]</sup>:
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*''N. f. cupreonitens'':
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:*East [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]] to south-eastern [[Sudan]], [[Ethiopia]], [[Uganda]], [[Kenya]], [[Tanzania]], [[Malawi]]
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*''N. f. famosa'':
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:*Mountains of eastern [[Zimbabwe]], [[Lesotho]], western [[Swaziland]] and [[South Africa]]
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==Habitat==
 
==Habitat==
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Highlands, montane and coastal scrub.  
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Bamboo in highland areas, scrubby moorland, forest edges.
 
==Behaviour==
 
==Behaviour==
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Diet includes nectar, and insects, especially when feeding young.  
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====Diet====
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Diet consists mostly of nectar and insects. They have also been recorded as eating small lizards.
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It builds an oval nest 1-3 dark-blotched greenish eggs are laid and incubated by the female for two weeks. The chicks are fed by both parents until fledging.
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====Breeding====
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The nest is an oval shape. The clutch consists of 1-3 dark-blotched greenish eggs, which are incubated by the female for two weeks. The chicks are fed by both parents until fledging.
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==References==
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#{{Ref-Clements6thAug16}}#Avibase
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#Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved October 2016)
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#The Website of Everything
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{{ref}}
 
==External Links==
 
==External Links==
 
{{GSearch|Nectarinia+famosa}}
 
{{GSearch|Nectarinia+famosa}}
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[[Category:Birds]]
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[[Category:Birds]] [[Category:Nectarinia]]

Revision as of 23:02, 4 October 2016

Male
Photo by Nick Scarle
Vanrhynsdorp, South Africa, August 2016
Nectarinia famosa

Identification

Male 24–27 cm (9½-10½ in); female 13–15 cm (5-6 in)
Male

  • Bright metallic green plumage
  • Blackish-green wings
  • Small yellow pectoral patches
  • Elongated tail feathers

Male non-breeding

  • Brown upperparts
  • Green wings and tail
  • Yellow underparts with green flecks in eclipse plumage
Female
Photo by louisdup
Eersterivier, South Africa, August 2005

Female

  • Brown upperparts
  • Dull yellow underparts with some indistinct breast streaking
  • Square-ended tail

Juvenile: similar to the female

Distribution

Africa:
Western Africa: occurs only in the Democratic Republic of Congo Eastern Africa: Sudan, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Zambia, Mozambique, Malawi
Southern Africa: Namibia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, KwaZulu-Natal, Lesotho, Swaziland

Taxonomy

Subspecies

There are 2 subspecies[1]:

  • N. f. cupreonitens:
  • N. f. famosa:

Habitat

Bamboo in highland areas, scrubby moorland, forest edges.

Behaviour

Diet

Diet consists mostly of nectar and insects. They have also been recorded as eating small lizards.

Breeding

The nest is an oval shape. The clutch consists of 1-3 dark-blotched greenish eggs, which are incubated by the female for two weeks. The chicks are fed by both parents until fledging.

References

  1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2016. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2016, with updates to August 2016. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
  2. Avibase
  3. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved October 2016)
  4. The Website of Everything

Recommended Citation

External Links

Retrieved from ‘https://www.birdforum.net/wiki/index.php?title=Malachite_Sunbird&oldid=219614’
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