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Cinnyris
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Splendid Sunbird Cinnyris coccinigastrus Scientific name definitions

Robert Cheke and Clive Mann
Version: 1.0 — Published March 4, 2020
Text last updated January 1, 2008

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Originally Appeared in

HBW Alive

Field Identification

13–14 cm; 12·3–15·3 g. Male has forehead to centre of crown and ear-coverts metallic purple, lores black, back of head metallic steel-blue, lower neck, mantle, scapulars, back, rump, and lesser and median upperwing-coverts metallic golden-green, uppertail-coverts steel-blue, some edged purple; remiges and greater wing-coverts black; black tail edged metallic steel-blue or green on outer webs; side of face and throat metallic purple, breast metallic steel-blue with scarlet feather edges (appearing barred), long pale yellow pectoral tufts; rest of underparts, including axillaries and underwing-coverts, black, undertail-coverts broadly tipped metallic steel-blue; iris dark brown; bill dark brown or black; legs blackish-purple or black. Female has grey forehead, lores, cheeks and ear-coverts dark olive, faint white stripe over eye, otherwise olive-washed grey-brown above, upperwing dark brown, edged olive-green, inner secondaries with pale tips, tail black-brown with green sheen, all rectrices except central pair with narrow white tip; chin and throat white, underparts pale yellow with grey feather centres (appearing mottled), but centre of belly pure yellow, axillaries pale yellow, underwing-coverts white, some tipped yellow; iris dark brown, bill and legs greenish-black. Immature male is as adult female but without grey forehead, and has upperparts browner, chin and throat grey-black (glossy purple on subadult), bill dark brown; immature female has darker brown crown than adult, throat patch less extensive than on young male, underparts duller, breast darker.

Systematics History

Monotypic.

Subspecies

Monotypic.

Distribution

Senegal E to S South Sudan and NE DRCongo; seasonal migrant to N Gabon.

Habitat

In most habitats from coast to N Guinea savanna, except mature forest.

Movement

Resident and migratory. In W Africa, migratory populations tend to move N to N savanna during May–Oct wet season, returning S in Dec–Apr; in Liberia, however, reported in N only in Oct–Jan and in Burkina Faso only Nov–May. Present NE Gabon Sept–Nov.

Diet and Foraging

Nectar, seeds, also spiders (Araneae) and insects, including flying ants (Formicidae) and termites (Isoptera), taken in the air. Forages singly and in pairs, also sometimes in groups of twelve or more individuals in flowering tree. Visits flowers of Berlinia grandiflora, Bombax, Caesalpinia pulcherrima, Carica papaya, Manihot glaziovii, Milletia thonningii and Parkia. Hovers at flowers and leaves; probes bark of oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) to take sap.

Sounds and Vocal Behavior

Common song a series of 6–9 clear descending whistles, "chip-chee-cho-cho-choo-choo-choo-choo" or "pititew-tew-pitew-pitew-pitew", alternative song of 6–8 notes rendered as "Oh-what-a-splendid-bird-I-am"; local variations in dialect maintained for up to 3 years, but not after 30 years, and some males only 40 m apart sing different dialects. Fluty calls, chirps and plaintive "chee-iip, chip, tschup" and "choo"; "djew-djew-djew" as alarm.

Breeding

Egg-laying recorded in Sept–Oct in Senegal and Sierra Leone, Jul–Oct in Gambia, Mar–Apr, Jun, Sept–Oct and Dec in Ghana, and Mar–Jun in Nigeria; sometimes double-brooded. Territorial male sings from regular perches and performs courtship song flights before landing high up, to be joined on branch by female, latter holding tail depressed and wings drooped. Nest built by female alone, pouch-shaped and with porch, made of fibres, leaves, grass, bark, down and cobwebs, lined with down, suspended from thin branch 2–3 m up. Clutch 1–2 eggs, matt and varying in colour from pale grey to dark brown, with grey and brown mottles, streaks, speckles and blotches concentrated at wider end; incubation of eggs and rearing of young by female alone; no information on duration of incubation and nestling periods.

Conservation Status

Conservation status on Birdlife LC Least Concern
Not globally threatened. Common throughout most of range. Occurs in several protected areas, such as Comoé National Park, in Ivory Coast.
Distribution of the Splendid Sunbird - Range Map
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  • Year-round
  • Migration
  • Breeding
  • Non-Breeding
Distribution of the Splendid Sunbird

eBird and Macaulay Library

Recommended Citation

Cheke, R. and C. Mann (2020). Splendid Sunbird (Cinnyris coccinigastrus), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.splsun2.01
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