Golden-winged Sunbird - BirdForum Opus

Male, subspecies lathburyi
Photo by Martin Creasser
Elsamere Naivasha, Kenya, June 2005

Drepanorhynchus reichenowi

Nectarinia reichenowi

Identification

Male 16–24 cm (6¼-9½ in); females 14–15 cm (5½-6 in)

De-curved bill

Distribution

Tropical Africa:
Western Africa: occurs only in Democratic Republic of Congo
Eastern Africa: Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania

Taxonomy

This species was recently split from the genus Nectarinia and has been placed in the monotypic genus Drepanorhynchus.

Subspecies

Female, Nominate subspecies
Photo by volker sthamer
Ngorongoro, Tanzania, September 2017

Drepanorhynchus reichenowi has three subspecies^[1]:

D. r. shellyae:

Montane forests of eastern Zaire

D. r. lathburyi:

Montane forests of northern Kenya (Mount Kulal to Mount Uraguess)

D. r. reichenowi:

Highlands of Kenya to south-eastern Uganda and north-eastern Tanzania

Habitat

Montane forest scrub, grassland with thickets, agricultural land and gardens.

Behaviour

Diet

Their diet consists of nectar and insects such as beetles and flies.

Breeding

They construct a globular nest.

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 May 2014)
BF Member observations

List of references

Recommended Citation

BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Golden-winged Sunbird. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 29 April 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Golden-winged_Sunbird

External Links

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