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Wildcliff Nature Reserve
Dedicated to
plant and wildlife conservation in South Africa's Cape Floral Kingdom
 Orange-Breasted
Sunbird (Anthobaphes violacea)
Description. Male
has dark head, orange-yellow breast and belly, and elongated central
tail feathers. Female is uniformly olive-green above and below.
Juvenile resembles female. At right,
a subadult male.
Call. A metallic,
twanging, rapid “ticks” given in pursuit flight and a jumbled
twittering song that includes mimicry of other species.
Habitat. Fynbos
and flowering montane protea and aloe stands.
Behavior. A
sendentary species that can be rather tame in urban settings and yet
can be shy and elusive in the veld and bush. Restricted to the region
of winter rainfall. Gregarious when not breeding, but is territorial
during the breeding season. The Orange-breasted Sunbird is a nectar
specialist and is strongly associated Erica spp.; also occurs wherever
Protea, Mimetes, and Leucospermum spp. are in flower. Insects are
hawked occasionally, especially in swampy or damp areas with reedbeds
and sedges where gnats tend to swarm. It is not uncommon to see this
sunbird feeding the ground
Diet. Nectar
feeding birds, they use their long, probing tongues to soak up juices,
etc.
Predators. Not
known - possibly snakes and raptors.
Reproduction.The
Orange-breasted Sunbird is a monogamous and solitary nester. Double and
even treble-brooded. The female will build a spherical nest with the
opening at the middle of a side. Only the female incubates. When
the clutch of 1-2 eggs hatches in 14-15 days, both sexes will feed the
nestlings. The nestling period ranges from 15-22 days with the average
being approxiamtely 19 days. For 5-15 days after fledging the young
will return to overnight in the nest. The female will actually join the
fledglings in the nest for the first 5-7 nights. Young continue to be
dependent on the parents for 3-4 weeks after fledging, in which both
adults will bring food. Klaas's Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx klaas) has been known
to parasitize Orange-breasted Sunbird nests.
On Wildcliff. Seen
in the montane fynbos adjacent to Fynbos Road and among the proteas.
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Female
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Male
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Links & References
- Wildcliff Bird
List
- Birding
Resources Page
- Fry, C.H., Keith S.,
and Urban E.K. (Eds.) (2000). The Birds of Africa Vol. VI. Academic
Press, London
- The Sunbirds of
Southern Africa, also the sugarbirds, the white-eyes and the Spotted
Creeper; by CJ. Skead. Publ: Cape Town, Amsterdam, S.A. Bird Book Fund,
1967.
Thanks to Kelly Sloan
and Conan Guard for their contributions to this page.
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