- Cinnyris frenatus
Identification
- Plain olive back
- Yellow belly
- White tail edges that are flared out in flight
- Male flashes an iridescent blue throat
- Female has a yellow throat and eyebrow.
Distribution
Sulawesi east to the northern Moluccas, New Guinea, and northeastern Australia. Sulawesi, northern Moluccas, New Guinea, West Papuan Island, Bismarck Archipelago, Solomon Islands, and north-eastern Australia and eastern Queensland.
Taxonomy
Formerly lumped with Olive-backed Sunbird.
Subspecies
Clements recognises the following subspecies [1]
- C. f. plateni: Sulawesi, Talaud, Salayar and adjacent smaller islands
- C. f. robustirostris: Banggai Island and Sula Island
- C. f. frenatus: Northern Moluccas, Aru and western Papuan Islands, New Guinea and north-eastern Queensland
- C. f. flavigastra: Bismarck Archipelago and Solomon Islands
Habitat
Forest edges, parks, and gardens
Behaviour
Diet
Their main diet consists of small insects, spiders, nectar and fruit.
They feed singly, in pairs and in small groups.
Breeding
The flask-shaped nest, with an overhanging porch at the entrance, and a trail of hanging material at the bottom end is built only by the female. The 1-3 greenish-blue eggs are incubated for 11-16 days. Both parents care for the young which fledge after a further two weeks.
References
- Clements, J. F., P. C. Rasmussen, T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, A. Spencer, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2023. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2023. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Cheke, R., C. Mann, G. M. Kirwan, and D. A. Christie (2023). Sahul Sunbird (Cinnyris frenatus), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (B. K. Keeney and S. M. Billerman, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.olbsun2.01
- Dutson, G. (2011) Birds of Melanesia, Christopher Helm, London.
- Gregory, P. (2017) Birds of New Guinea, Including Bismarck Archipelago and Boughainville. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.
- BF Member observations
- Eaton, JA, B van Balen, NW Brickle, FE Rheindt 2021. Birds of the Indonesian Archipelago (Greater Sundas and Wallacea), Second Edition. Lynx Editions. ISBN978-84-16728-44-2
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Sahul Sunbird. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 5 May 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Sahul_Sunbird
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
