Beautiful sunbird facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Beautiful sunbird |
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| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Cinnyris
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| Species: |
pulchellus
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| Synonyms | |
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Certhia pulchella Linnaeus, 1766 |
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The beautiful sunbird (Cinnyris pulchellus) is a small, colorful bird found in sunny parts of Africa. It used to be called Nectarinia pulchella. These birds are known for their bright feathers and their love for flower nectar, just like tiny, feathered hummingbirds! You can find them all the way from Senegal in the west to Kenya and Tanzania in the east.
Contents
What Does the Beautiful Sunbird Look Like?
Beautiful sunbirds are really tiny, only about 10 cm (4 in) long. That's about the length of a pen! The male bird, when ready to breed, has a very long tail that adds another 5 cm (2 in).
Special Features for Eating Nectar
These birds have special beaks and tongues. Their bills are medium-length, thin, and curve downwards. Their tongues are like tiny brushes and are shaped like tubes. These features help them drink nectar from flowers.
Colors of the Male and Female Sunbird
The male beautiful sunbird is very striking. It has a black head and shiny, metallic green feathers on its back. Its chest is bright red, with a yellow and black belly. The feathers in the middle of its tail are extra long and beautiful. The female sunbird is less colorful. She has brown feathers on her back and yellowish feathers underneath.
How Do Beautiful Sunbirds Live?
Sunbirds are a group of very small Old World passerine birds. Passerine means they are "perching birds," which is a large group of birds that includes most songbirds. They mostly eat nectar from flowers. However, they also catch insects, especially when they are feeding their young.
Flying and Feeding Habits
Beautiful sunbirds fly very fast and straight using their short wings. Most sunbird species can hover in the air like a hummingbird to drink nectar. But usually, they prefer to perch on a branch while they feed.
Nesting and Migration
The beautiful sunbird is a common bird that breeds across tropical Africa, south of the Sahara desert. They build a hanging nest in a tree and lay one or two eggs. These birds are also migrants, meaning they move to different areas within their range during certain seasons.
Where Do Beautiful Sunbirds Live?
You can find the beautiful sunbird in many countries in Africa. These include Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, and Uganda.
Their Favorite Places to Live
This bird likes to live in open areas that have some trees. You might spot them in places like savannah grasslands, thick bushes along rivers, mangrove swamps, beaches, and even gardens!
What Is the Beautiful Sunbird's Conservation Status?
The beautiful sunbird lives across a very large area and there are many of them. Because it is a common bird, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has checked on its numbers. They have decided that its conservation status is "least concern". This means that the beautiful sunbird is not currently in danger of disappearing.
Gallery
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