Greater Double-collared Sunbird Cinnyris afer Scientific name definitions

11·5–12·5 cm; male 9–18g, female 8·1–14 g. Male has head to rump metallic green with blue iridescence (but bases of feathers brown), uppertail-coverts iridescent violet, tail brown-black thinly glossed blue, with narrow whitish edges to outermost feather pair, flight-feathers, primary coverts and greater wing-coverts brown, median and lesser wing-coverts metallic green; throat metallic green, narrow blue-violet band above scarlet breast and upper belly, otherwise dark olive-buff below ; iris dark hazel; bill and legs black. Female is smaller and shorter-billed than male, has head and upperparts dark olivaceous grey, tail brown-black with slight blue gloss, outermost feather pair distally pale brown, wing grey-brown, flight-feathers, primary coverts and greater wing-coverts edged buffish; throat and breast grey, speckled with grey-olive, greyish-buff sometimes with yellow tinge below, paler on belly, flanks and undertail-coverts, axillaries and underwing-coverts pale green. Juvenile resembles female. Proposed race saliens male is larger than nominate, has lighter non-metallic underparts, lighter red breastband with rest more yellow, female paler and greyish, more heavily patterned on throat and breast and greener on middle of lower underparts.

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Open habitats with scrub, from coastal plains to Afromontane forest edge, including succulent karoo, Protea savanna, fynbos, moist woodland, parks and gardens.

Moves, including altitudinally, in response to flowering of plant sources.

Insects, including beetles (Coleoptera), flies (Diptera), homopteran bugs, Hymenoptera and Lepidoptera; also spiders (Araneae); also nectar and plant juices. Forages singly, in pairs and in small groups; joins mixed-species flocks. Takes spiders from their webs; seizes insects on the wing in sallies and by hovering. Gleans flowers and leaves for arthropods. Probes flowers for insects and nectar; takes juices of figs and grapes, and partial to liquid exudate at exit holes of fig-wasp Elisabethiella baijnathi in the fig Ficus burtt-daveyi. Visits Acacia sieberiana, aloes (Aloe), Ananas comosus, Burchellia bubalisia, Crotalaria agatifolia, Disa chrysostachya, Hypericum revolutum, Kniphofia princiae, Lobelia giberroa, Lobelia milsbraedii, Plumbago auriculata, Protea caffra, Protea roupelliae, Pyrostegia venusta, Spermacoce dibrachiata, Strelitzia reginae, Symphonia globulifera, various figs (including Ficus burtt-daveyi), and species in the genera Balthasaria, Bauhinia, Canna, Cotyledon, Erica, Erythrina, Gasteria, Hibiscus, Schotia, Tecoma and Vitis.

Song, by both sexes, a melodious twitter involving “weetu” whistles, alternating between loud and soft, between series of 20 or more “tsi” notes, this followed by 3 or 4 “tsk” notes or fast repetitions of “weet” or “tscheep” (five times per second for 30 seconds). Varied calls include “sskert”, “tsig-tsig”, “chay,ing-chay,ing”, also “ch,ch,ch, cher-rrreee” and “tssweeee”.

Egg-laying in all months in South Africa; up to three broods. Male sings with head pointing skywards in close proximity to rivals, which respond with head-bobbing; cloaca-pecking common. Displaying male sways left and right, bobs head, fans tail and shows pectoral tufts, also indulges in jerky display-flights; partners may swing upside-down from perches. Nest built by female, taking 10–24 days, oval, with side entrance near top, porch of grass extending 3·5–6 cm out, construction variable, some neat and others messy, materials include grass, bark, twigs, roots, leaves, lichen, string, rags, small fruits, leaf mould, feathers, wool or fur, held together with cobwebs, decorated with leaves, old snakeskin, lichen and even cloth, lined with feathers and wool, placed 1·5–7 m up in tree or shrub. Clutch 1–2 eggs, white, grey or green-white, heavily marked with light slate-grey or olive or brown speckles, streaks, lines and spots; incubation by female, period 15 days; chicks fed by both parents, nestling period 2 weeks; both also feed fledglings for c. 10 days after latter leave nest. Nests parasitized by Klaas’s Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx klaas).

Not globally threatened. Common or locally common in South Africa.