Banded Sunbird Anthreptes rubritorques Scientific name definitions

A small sunbird with a short, nearly straight bill and a short tail, the Banded Sunbird is known only from Eastern Arc Mountains of Tanzania. It is uncommon in most of its range, but in the East Usambara and West Usambara mountains it is locally common in mid-elevation forest (700‒1,500 meters). This species typically occurs near forest edges and is often observed in tall trees along roads or occasionally low in scrub vegetation adjacent to farmland, but always in the vicinity of mature trees.

The Banded Sunbird is usually easy to detect due to its frequently uttered, penetrating chirp calls (that may accelerate into a song), heard during the breeding period from June to January. It mostly forages on nectar and invertebrates, either alone, in pairs, or groups of up to 10 birds, but it sometimes occurs in flocks with as many as 60 individuals when feeding on small berries.

The Banded Sunbird has been recorded from six of Tanzania’s Eastern Arc Mountains, but information is needed for the Uluguru and Nguru mountains where there appear to be no verified records (photo or specimen) since the 1950s. Loss and degradation of forest habitat is ongoing over much of this species' range, including in the East Usambara and West Usambara mountains, and its global population (inferred to be 2,500‒9,999 individuals) is presumed to be in decline. For these reasons, it is listed as Vulnerable by BirdLife International.