Bird Watching Blog

Goldenwinged sunbird

Drepanorhynchus reichenowi

SUBFAMILY

Nectariniinae

TAXONOMY

Drepanorhynchus reichenowi Fischer, 1884, Lake Naivasha, Kenya. Three subspecies.

OTHER COMMON NAMES

English: Golden-wing sunbird; French: Souimanga à ailes dorées; German: Gelbschwanz-Sichelhopf; Spanish: Nectarina de Alas Doradas.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Male 6.3-9.4 in (16-24 cm), female 5.5-5.9 in (14-15 cm); male 0.45-0.62 oz (12.8-17.5 g), female 0.39-0.56 oz (11-15.9 g).

Mostly chestnut-brown with decurved bill and yellow-golden wing and lateral tail feathers. Two elongated feathers extended from tail.

DISTRIBUTION

D. r. lathburyi: northern Kenya on isolated mountain ranges; D. r. reichenowi: southern and western Uganda, western and central Kenya, mountains in northeastern Tanzania; D. r. shel-leyi: highlands of Democratic Republic of the Congo northwest of Lake Tanganyika.

HABITAT

Grasslands, clearings, forest edges, and gardens in highlands above 3,900 ft (1,200 m).

BEHAVIOR

Altitudinal migrant, following flowering seasons. Sometimes forms large feeding flocks at nectar sources. Has groove in crown that collects pollen. Territorial; can obtain three-quarters of energy needs from within territory. Song consists of short twittering and high-pitched "chi-chi-chi."

FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET

Associated in particular with lion's claw flower (Crotalaria agat-iflora) and Leonotis spp. Feeds from aloes and jacarandas, also on insects that are sometimes caught in flight.

REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY

Single white egg, mottled with gray-brown, laid in globular nest made of grass and other plant material with porch over entrance hole.

CONSERVATION STATUS

Not threatened.

SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS None known. ♦

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