Meet Splendid Sunbird, This Bird Looks Like It Came Right From A Paradise

The diversity of passerine birds never ceases to amaze us, humans. Putting on one-of-their-kind coats, these flying creatures shine brightly in nature. They add more brilliant colors to nature and liven it up with their songs. It’s understandable why many people are engaged in watching and photographing birds.

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The more you think you’ve enjoyed the beauty of the world, the more you go far from the truth. Perhaps, unicorns are sci-fi creatures. But, the bird you are about to see in these pics is magical and eye-catching. It exists and it has a striking colours when moving. Image credit: Roberto Demicheli

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The Splendid Sunbird, Cinnyris coccinigaster (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.

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Their flight is fast and direct on short wings. Most species can take nectar by hovering like a hummingbird, but usually perch to feed most of the time. The Splendid Sunbird breeds in west and central tropical Africa. One or two eggs are laid in an oval suspended nest in a tree. It is a seasonal migrant within its range.

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Splendid Sunbirds (Cinnyris coccinigastrus) are 15cm long, and have medium-long thin down-curved bills and brush-tipped tubular tongues, both adaptations to their nectar feeding. The adult male is mainly glossy purple, with a dark green back and wing bar, and a crimson breast patch. The female is greenish-brown above and yellowish below. This species is a common breeder in wet savannah and woodland with Oil Palms Elaeis guineensis. The latter provide sap from the incisions made in the trunk to collect the liquid to make palm wine.

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Identification: 3–14 cm (5-5½ in); a medium-large sunbird with a fairly long decurved bill. The adult male is very dark, having a metallic dark green mantle, back & inner wing with and a glossy dark blue rump. The chin and throat are metallic violet transforming to metallic scarlet on the breast. Adult females are dark grey above, pale grey over the throat and have a yellow wash on the belly which is streaked grey. Immatures are like the adult female but with blackish areas around the throat. The young males progressively develop metallic colouration initially from the chin area and on the inner wings.

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Distribution: West and central tropical Africa: found from Senegal to Sierra Leone, east to southern Nigeria, Cameroon, Central African Republic, north-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, and south-western South Sudan; non-breeding visitor to north-eastern Gabon. You can watch video below: