Alternative name: Kenya Violet-backed Sunbird
- Anthreptes orientalis
Identification
12 cm (4¾ in); a short-billed sunbird
- Bluish-violet head, nape and chin
- Bluish-green back and rump
Distribution
Eastern Africa: found in southeastern South Sudan, southern and eastern Ethiopia, northwestern and southern Somalia, northern Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania.
Taxonomy
This is a monotypic species[1].
Subspecies neumanni is not generally recognised[2].
Habitat
Semi-arid acacia bush and gardens.
Behaviour
Diet
Their diet consists of spiders, insects and nectar. A series of images showing how they collect nectar is shown in this thread.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2017. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2017, with updates to August 2017. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Avibase
- BF Member observations
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved August 2014)
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Eastern Violet-backed Sunbird. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 17 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Eastern_Violet-backed_Sunbird
