Southern Double-collared Sunbird Cinnyris chalybeus Scientific name definitions

12 cm; 6–10 g. Male nominate race breeding is metallic green on head, throat, upper breast, neck, mantle, back and rump; uppertail-coverts iridescent bright blue, tail black with blue sheen, outer web of outer rectrices whitish; upperwing and primary and greater wing-coverts dark brown, lesser coverts metallic green; green of upper breast bordered below by narrow band (2 mm deep) of iridescent bluish-violet, and under this a scarlet breastband 8–10 mm deep; yellow pectoral tufts, upper belly smoky grey, lower belly, flanks and undertail-coverts paler olive-grey, underwing-coverts pale brown; iris dark brown; bill and legs black. Male non-breeding (eclipse plumage) is similar to female, but wings and tail as breeding male, metallic colours on mantle to uppertail-coverts and a few on head, chin and throat, and some red feathering on lower breast. Female has crown and nape grey-olive, upperparts grey-brown, washed olive on mantle and upperwing-coverts, pale yellow on bend of wing, tail blackish-brown, paler on outermost feathers, which have whitish outer web and tip; throat and breast olive-grey, sometimes with diffuse streaking, belly and undertail-coverts greyer, axillaries and under­wing-coverts pale greyish-yellow; bare parts as male, buccal cavity orange (changing to pink when ready to lay). Juvenile as female; immature male similar to adult but with some olive feathering within metallic plumage, also has eclipse plumage with brown head and only 10–30% of feathers (mostly on nape) glossy green. Race subalaris male is darker grey, more olive-tinged, on abdomen than nominate, bill slightly longer (24–26 mm; nominate 21–23 mm), female generally greener and darker above.

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Editor's Note: Additional distribution information for this taxon can be found in the 'Subspecies' article above. In the future we will develop a range-wide distribution article.

Varied, including scrub, gardens, fynbos, plantations, protea (Protea) areas of highlands and dune thickets; woodland and coastal, inland and evergreen montane forests.

Recoveries up to 34 km from where ringed suggest dispersion in search of food, and post-breeding movements indicated by regular times of arrival and departure at some sites. Leaves arid W areas in Jul–Dec, moving into S Eastern Cape May–Nov. Appears suddenly in synchrony with blooming of aloes (Aloe).

Nectar, insects, spiders (Araneae); probes fig fruits (Ficus). Associated with the milkweed Microloma sagittatum; the birds collect its pollinia, which become attached to the tongue by slotting into a specialized groove. Visits wide range of other foodplants, including Brunsvigia orientalis, Burchellia bubalisia, Canna indica, Erythrina lysistemon, Erythrina tomentosa, Grevillea banksii, Halleria lucida, Justicia guttata, Kniphofia rhodesiana, Kniphofia uvaria, Lachenalia viridiflora, Lachenalia pendula, Manihot glaziovii, Pelargonium inquinans, Phygelius capensis, Schotia afra, Tecoma capensis, species of genera Aloe, Bauhinia, Cadaba, Callistemon, Carissa, Erica, Eucalyptus, Gladiolus, Lantana, Leonotis, Leucospermum, Lycium, Musa, Nicotiniana, Protea, Prunus, Salvia, Strelitzia, and mistletoes (Loranthaceae). Hovers in front of flowers, and nectar-robs others. Hawks for insects.

Song starts and finishes with a series of 6–12 harsh “ptzzer” or “ssssweee” hisses, and is otherwise a warble of rising and falling “tsee” and a distinctive rising “weeto-weeto-weet” intermixed with rising and falling “weeta witta witta-weeta, witta witta, witta witta wit” and variants. Female also has subsong, indistinguishable from that of males. Calls include “cher-cher”, “swik-swik”, “chee-chee”, “zz, zz, zz, zhik” and a plaintive “tseet”.

Egg-laying Apr–Dec in South Africa; sometimes double-brooded. Territorial. Males may sing from perches for 15 minutes or more, sometimes flashing pectoral tufts at each other; sometimes sings on the wing, and conducts wing-clapping display; male often pecks cloaca of female, usually before mating. Nest built by female, taking 1–4 weeks to do so (one nest built in a week, with peak rate of 39 visits per hour), compact and pear-shaped or oval, constructed with grass, lichen, wool, feathers, twigs and cobwebs, sometimes with porch over entrance, covered externally with cobwebs, lined with feathers, hairs, plant down or (in upland areas) Usnea lichen, usually without “beard” but one nest had dangling beard of Usnea, can be sited less than 0·2 m above ground, but usually c. 1·5 m up in ericaceous or other shrub and occasionally up to 8 m up (e.g. in Podocarpus falcatus); nest sometimes reused. Clutch 1–3 eggs, creamy to grey-white or green-white, densely covered with brown, grey, sepia or black mottles, lines and spots; incubation by female, period 2 weeks; chicks brooded by female, fed by both parents, both also remove faecal sacs, which may be passed to them by 10-day-old nestlings; nestling period 15–19 days; fledglings return to nest to roost for up to 9 nights, remain with parents for up to c. 1 month. Nests parasitized by Klaas’s Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx klaas).

Not globally threatened. Common to fairly common or locally common throughout range.