Elegant Sunbird Aethopyga duyvenbodei Scientific name definitions

12 cm. Male has crown metallic green (sometimes appearing bluer), nape side, neck and ear-coverts maroon-red, mantle and back dark olive-green, upperwing-coverts glossed greenish-blue, shoulder glossed blue, rump deep yellow, uppertail-coverts metallic purple; remiges blackish, metallic blue edging on inner secondaries, rounded tail blackish-brown with whitish edging and pale grey tips; foreface dull blackish, often with some dull yellow on lores, bright yellow eyering broken into upper and lower halves, underparts yellow, with richer, more orange tinge to central abdomen, dark green of mantle extends as indistinct bar onto breast side, rest of underparts orange-yellow; iris black; bill black or blackish; legs blackish or reddish-pink. Female has lores olive; is dark golden-olive above, with indistinct scaling on forehead and crown, wings brownish, edged greenish, primaries noticeably darker, edged greenish-olive, and tail blackish, tipped grey; throat to upper breast greenish-yellow, narrow darkish olive band across lower throat separating it from breast, and rest of underparts bright yellow; bare parts as male. Juvenile is similar to female, but with pale pinky-brown bill and legs.

Sangihe I; also one old specimen from Siau.

Remnant forest, bamboo, mixed plantations, secondary forest, scrub and tree-ferns; to 900 m.

Nothing recorded.

Diet includes insects and nectar. Forages singly and in pairs, sometimes in small groups; joins mixed-species flocks. Insects are taken from vegetation or extracted from spider webs.

Male song a very short, high, insect-like trill; male also produces a high trill of chipping notes. Calls include high-pitched and rasping “treek” or “tseeek”; also “tit”, given singly or up to four in rapid sequence; various squeaky notes.

Birds with enlarged gonads in May, recently vacated nest in Aug, juveniles observed in Aug–Sept, and singing and lek-like behaviour recorded in Nov–Dec; data suggest two breeding seasons. No other information.

ENDANGERED. Restricted-range species: present in Sangihe and Talaud EBA. Uncommon to locally more common. Has fragmented population, and undergoing continuing decline owing to loss and degradation of habitat. Presence in Siau questionable; one specimen apparently taken there in 1866. On Sangihe, common in forest and plantations on Mt Sahengbalira in Aug 2004. This species occurs at high densities in primary forest on Mt Sahendaruman and can tolerate disturbed habitats (2 Riley, J. (2002). Population sizes and the status of endemic and restricted-range bird species on Sangihe Island, Indonesia. Bird Conservation International 12(1):53–78. Close ). Global population therefore estimated at 18,900–43,800 birds in 1998–1999 (2 Riley, J. (2002). Population sizes and the status of endemic and restricted-range bird species on Sangihe Island, Indonesia. Bird Conservation International 12(1):53–78. Close ), which is reckoned to be equivalent to 13,000–29,000 mature individuals BirdLife International (2015) Species factsheet: Aethopyga duyvenbodei. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 30/11/2015. . Total range of c. 560 km² BirdLife International (2015) Species factsheet: Aethopyga duyvenbodei. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 30/11/2015. , within which it has been recorded from Talawid Atas, Kedang, Mt Awu, Petta, Manganitu, Mt Sahendaruman, Mt Sahengbalira, Mt Palenti, Kentuhang, Ulung Peliang, Tabukan and Tahuna. Tiny remnant of primary forest surviving on Sangihe inadequately protected and continues to suffer from agricultural encroachment at lower fringes; forest on Mt Sahendaruman nominally conserved. Since 1995, fieldwork and conservation-awareness programmes have been conducted, and ideas developed for future land use, through agreements between interested parties. Proposals made to reclassify the 4km² of “protection forest” on Mt Sahengbalira as a wildlife reserve, and some forest in Kentuhang valley is protected as watershed for a hydro-electric scheme. Other proposals include establishment of permanent presence of forestry staff on Sangihe I. Both Mt Sahendaruman and Mt Sahengbalira should be effectively protected.