- Cinnyris pulchellus
Nectarinia pulchella
Identification
Male: 14-17 cm (5½-6¾ in); Female 9–11 cm (3½-4¼ in)
- Medium-length thin down-curved bills
- Brush-tipped tubular tongues
Male
- Bright metallic green upperparts and upperwing-coverts
- Bright red breast patch bordered laterally by pale lime-green
- 5cm long tail streamers
Female
- Greenish-brown upperparts
- Yellowish underparts
Distribution
Sub-Saharan 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, Democratic Republic of Congo
Eastern Africa: Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania
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. p. pulchellus (aegra, lucidipectus):
- C. p. melanogastrus:
Habitat
Open habitats with some trees, dry thorn savanna, riversides, mangroves, coastal beaches and gardens. Found from 250 to 2000m
Behaviour
Diet
The diet consists of nectar, small flowers and insects and spiders.
Breeding
Its nest is suspended in a tree and 1-2 eggs are laid.
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
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved January 2016)
- Wikipedia
- BF Member observations
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Beautiful Sunbird. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 28 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Beautiful_Sunbird
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.
