Black-bellied Sunbird - BirdForum Opus

Male of subspecies nectarinioides.
Photo © by THE_FERN. Tsavo East National Park, Kenya, November 2021

Nectarinia nectarinioides

Identification

Smallest sunbird.
Black, iridescent green neck, long down curved bill, black eye, legs and feet.

Male, non-breeding
Photo by Glen Tepke
Samburu National Reserve, Kenya, June 2009

This is one of the many Sunbirds that have recently been moved to the genus Cinnyris from the genus Nectarinia.

Female or Immature
Photo by Glen Tepke
Samburu National Reserve, Kenya, June 2009

Clements recognises the following subspecies [1]:

C. n. erlangeri: Savanna of south-eastern Ethiopia to southern Somalia and extreme north-eastern Kenya
C. n. nectarinioides: Lowlands of interior northern Kenya to extreme north-eastern Tanzania

Savanna, riparian woodland in semi-arid scrub.

The diet includes nectar.

Nest is purse-shaped, suspended and built by the female, who also incubates the clutch of 1-3 eggs alone. The male helps with rearing the young.

Clements, JF. 2009. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2009. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
Avibase
Answers.com

BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Black-bellied Sunbird. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 21 June 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Black-bellied_Sunbird

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