Johanna's Sunbird
Cinnyris johannae
A large, long-billed sunbird of forest and forest edge, sometimes venturing into gardens and farms. Both sexes have a distinctive long and mostly straight bill with a noticeable droop towards the tip. Males are iridescent green above and dark below with a green throat, a red-and-purple chest, and a maroon belly. Females are light brown above with a subtle eye-line, and pale with fine brown streaking below. Most likely to be confused with Splendid Sunbird, but look for the male’s green throat and maroon rather than red belly, and the female’s finely streaked underparts. Call is a descending whistled “tiuw.” The song is a complex jumble of whistled notes, not unlike that of other sunbirds.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Cinnyris johannae
- Authority
- Verreaux, J & Verreaux, É, 1851
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Nectariniidae
- Genus
- Cinnyris
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Other Birds
Rose-faced Parrot
Pyrilia pulchra
Beautiful parrot found in Andean cloud forest in western Ecuador and western Colombia. Green with golden breast and neck, and a red face bordered with black. Nothing similar occurs in range. Most often encountered flying rapidly overhead in small flocks that give piercing shrieks. Feeds on fruiting trees, usually high in the canopy, but sometimes descends lower where there is abundant food.
Rufous-shafted Woodstar
Chaetocercus jourdanii
Tiny, mostly green bumblebee-like hummingbird with a straight bill, glittering magenta throat, white chest band and sides of rump, and short forked tail. Female very different, with buffy underparts, dark brown ears, and unforked rufous tail with a black band. Found in cloud forest, edges, second growth, and gardens, with some seasonal movements. Often hard to see, but sometimes perches at the top of bare branches. In Andes, compare to the similar Gorgeted Woodstar; male Gorgeted has longer purple feathers on the throat, and female lacks green central tail feathers. At lower elevations compare with Amethyst Woodstar, in which the male has a longer tail and female has a whitish throat and black tail tipped with white. Restricted to Colombia and Venezuela.
Metallic Starling
Aplonis metallica
Long-tailed, dark songbird. Adults glossy blackish with strong metallic green-blue sheen above in good light, bright red eye. Immatures dark above, pale with short, dark streaks below. Nest in large colonies, typically seen in very large flocks that fly fast and low. Spangled Drongo somewhat similar but with flared tail shape. Inhabits forests, parks, gardens.
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