Collared Sunbird

Collared Sunbird
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Nectariniidae
Genus:	Hedydipna
Species:	H. collaris
Binomial name
Hedydipna collaris (Vieillot, 1819)

The Collared Sunbird, Hedydipna collaris (formerly placed in the genus Nectarinia), is a sunbird. The sunbirds are a group of very small Old World passerine birds which feed largely on nectar, although they will also take insects, especially when feeding young. Collared Sunbird is in fact mainly insectivorous.

A male in a garden grapevine.

Sunbird flight is fast and direct on their short wings. Most species can take nectar by hovering like a hummingbird, but usually perch to feed most of the time.

Collared Sunbird is a common breeder across most of sub-Saharan Africa. Two or three eggs are laid in a suspended nest in a tree. It is a seasonal migrant within its range.

Collared Sunbirds are tiny, only 9-10 cm long. They have short thin down-curved bills and brush-tipped tubular tongues, both adaptations to nectar feeding.

The adult male has glossy green upperparts and head with a yellow belly and narrow purple breast band. The female is a duller green above and entirely yellow below.

This species is found in forests near water.

References

Birds of The Gambia by Barlow, Wacher and Disley, ISBN 1-873403-32-1