Beautiful Sunbird
Cinnyris pulchellus
A slim, long-billed sunbird in which breeding males and females are very different. Breeding males are mostly dark green with a red-and-yellow band across the underparts. Females are plain, with gray-brown upperparts and white underparts tinged with yellow. Found in a wide variety of open habitats including savanna, woodland, and gardens. Similar to Black-bellied Sunbird, but breeding males are separated by the more extensive yellow in their belly band, and females by their reduced streaking below. Little or no range overlap with Gorgeous Sunbird, but if in doubt the green belly of breeding male Beautiful Sunbird will identify it. The common call is a quiet chipping, and the song is a high-pitched jumble typical of sunbirds.
Identification
Beautiful sunbirds are tiny, only 10 cm (4 in) long, although the breeding male's long tail adds another 5 cm (2 in). They have medium-length thin down-curved bills and brush-tipped tubular tongues, both of which are adaptations to their nectar feeding. The male has a black head, bright metallic green upper parts, scarlet breast bordered with yellow and black belly. The central feathers of the teal are greatly elongated. The female is brown above with yellowish underparts.
Taxonomy
Genus: Cinnyris; Family: Nectariniidae; Order: Passeriformes.
- Scientific name
- Cinnyris pulchellus
- Authority
- (Linnaeus, 1766)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Nectariniidae
- Genus
- Cinnyris
Range and habitat
The beautiful sunbird occurs in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo and Uganda. This species is found in a variety of open habitats with some trees, including savannah, riverside thickets, mangroves, beachsides and gardens.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: stable.
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Black-bibbed Tit
Poecile hypermelaenus
Small brownish tit with a clear black-and-white face pattern. Very similar to Marsh Tit, with which it is closely related, but ranges do not overlap. Sichuan Tit may pose some identification problems, but Black-bibbed has plain wings without bright white tinting, a more extensive solid black bib, and comparatively paler flanks. Song consists of twittering chirps and higher-pitched notes: “tsi-tsi-chew!” or a more musical series of whistled and chattering notes. Calls include nasal scolding and a range of chipping and loud “pit-chew!” phrases. Prefers mid- to high-altitude forests, often in association with conifers in China and in mixed forest in Myanmar.
Sickle-winged Guan
Chamaepetes goudotii
Large chickenlike bird, but small for a guan. Distinctive: mostly brown with contrasting rufous belly and bright blue facial skin around red eye. Found in subtropical zones on both slopes of Andes, from Colombia to Bolivia. Rather unobtrusive and quiet; can be difficult to spot as it perches in the middle and upper levels of the forest. Often in pairs or small groups.
Short-tailed Woodstar
Myrmia micrura
Tiny hummingbird with a very short tail found in arid scrub and desert in western Ecuador and northwestern Peru. Male has glittering violet “beard” that is bordered by white above and below. Female lacks throat patch and has a buffy tinge to underparts, faint facial stripes, and a white tip to the tail. Female is told from other similar species in range by very short tail that does not reach wingtips when perched and white tip of tail (not white edges or corners).
Start Your Bird Watching Journey
Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.