Southern Double-collared Sunbird - BirdForum Opus

Nectarinia chalybea

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

Cinnyris chalybeus, Lesser Double-collared Sunbird

Description

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.

Distribution

South Africa, Swaziland and extreme southern Namibia.

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

Taxonomy

Recently split from Miombo Double-collared Sunbird Nectarinia manoensis. There are two subspecies: N. c. chalybeus, extreme southern Namibia south to the south-western Cape, east to the Fish River in the Eastern Cape; N. c. subalaris, from the Fish River north to the Soutpansberg.

Habitat

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

Behaviour

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

References

Hockey PAR, Dean WRJ & Ryan PG (eds) 2005. Robert's Birds of Southern Africa, 7th edition. Cape Town: John Voelcker Bird Book Fund. ISBN 0620340533

External Links

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