Purple-breasted Sunbird
Nectarinia purpureiventris
Long, slim medium-sized sunbird. Breeding males show an array of beautiful iridescent colors in good light, and have a very long, thin tail year-round. Females have a dark face and pale throat. Generally uncommon in montane forest along the Albertine Rift. Most distinctive vocalization is a long, dry rattle, which is unlike the calls of most sunbirds. Fairly similar to Bronze Sunbird. Males are separated by their longer tail, and in breeding plumage by their purple tones. Females are separated by their more pointed tail and lack of a pale eyebrow.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Nectarinia purpureiventris
- Authority
- (Reichenow, 1893)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Nectariniidae
- Genus
- Nectarinia
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Chestnut-throated Apalis
Apalis porphyrolaema
Gray apalis with a distinct rufous throat. Found in the canopy of montane forest and adjacent secondary growth. Usually in pairs, and readily joins mixed-species feeding flocks. The distinctive song is a vibrant trill that sounds like the ringing of a small telephone. This trill is often doubled. Similar to female Buff-throated Apalis, but has a more clearly defined rufous throat and gray rather than white underparts.
Black-headed Shrike-Babbler
Pteruthius rufiventer
Large-headed songbird with confusingly dissimilar male and female plumages. Male has an orange back, white throat, orangish belly, and a black head and wings. Female is green-winged and gray-headed, with a darker crown and triangular patch behind the ear. She shares the male’s warm-colored belly, but hers is more salmon-pink than orange-yellow. The species inhabits mature foothill forests, where it may often be seen with mixed-species foraging flocks.
Brown Jacamar
Brachygalba lugubris
A small-headed bird with a long slender bill. Mostly brown with a glossy bluish black, wings, and tail that contrasts with a white chin and belly. Northern subspecies have buffy underparts. Normally sits upright on an exposed branch; often in groups where they sally out to catch insects. Found at the border and in the canopy of forests and savanna woodlands.
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