- Olive-backed Sunbird
-
Olive-backed Sunbird 
Male 
Female Conservation status Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Passeriformes Family: Nectariniidae Genus: Cinnyris Species: C. jugularis Binomial name Cinnyris jugularis
Linnaeus, 1766Synonyms Nectarinia jugularis
The Olive-backed Sunbird, Cinnyris jugularis, also known as the Yellow-bellied Sunbird, is a species of sunbird found from Southern Asia to Australia.
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. Their flight is fast and direct on their short wings. Most species can take nectar by hovering, but usually perch to feed most of the time.
Male hovering while feeding
The Olive-backed Sunbird is common across southern China to the Philippines and Malaysia down to northeast Australia. They are small songbirds, at most 12cm long. In most subspecies, the underparts of both male and female are bright yellow, the backs are a dull brown colour. The forehead, throat and upper breast of the adult male is a dark, metallic blue-black. In the Philippines (where they are known as "tamsi")[1] the males of some subspecies have an orange band on the chest, in Wallacea and northern New Guinea some subspecies have most of the underparts blackish, and in southern China and adjacent parts of Vietnam most of the underparts of the male are greyish-white.
Originally from mangrove habitat, the Olive-backed sunbird has adapted well to humans, and is now common even in fairly densely populated areas, even forming their nests in human dwellings.[2][3]
The birds mate between the months of April and August. Both the male and the female assist in building the nest which is flask-shaped, with an overhanging porch at the entrance, and a trail of hanging material at the bottom end.[2]
After building the nest, the birds abandon the nest for about a week before the female returns to lay one or two greenish-blue eggs. The eggs take a further week to hatch. The female may leave the nest for short periods during the day during incubation. After the chicks have hatched, both male and female assist in the care of the young, which leave the nest about two or three weeks later.[3]
References
- ^ Christian Perez. "The Birds of Alabang Hills". http://www.manilaoldtimer.net/BirdsofAlabangHills/birds.html. Retrieved May 15, 2011.
- ^ a b Olive-backed Sunbird
- ^ a b Sunbird letters
- BirdLife International (2004). Nectarinia jugularis. 2006. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved on 02 May 2007. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
- Sunbirds by Cheke, Mann and Allen, ISBN 1-873403-80-1
External links
- Olive-backed Sunbird videos, photos & sounds on the Internet Bird Collection.
- BirdLife Species Factsheet
Categories:- IUCN Red List least concern species
- Cinnyris
- Birds of Australia
- Birds of Asia
- Birds of Southeast Asia
- Birds of Brunei
- Birds of Cambodia
- Birds of China
- Birds of India
- Birds of Indonesia
- Birds of Laos
- Birds of Malaysia
- Birds of Burma
- Birds of Papua New Guinea
- Birds of the Philippines
- Birds of the Solomon Islands
- Birds of Singapore
- Birds of Thailand
- Birds of Vietnam
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
