Orange-breasted sunbird

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Orange-breasted sunbird
SunBird capetown.jpg
Male bird on a protea flower
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Nectariniidae
Genus: Anthobaphes
Cabanis, 1850
Species:
A. violacea
Binomial name
Anthobaphes violacea
(Linnaeus, 1766)
Synonyms
  • Certhia violaceaLinnaeus, 1766
  • Nectarinia violacea(Linnaeus, 1766)

The orange-breasted sunbird (Anthobaphes violacea) is a species of small, predominantly nectar-feeding bird that is endemic to the fynbos shrubland biome of southwestern South Africa. It is the only member of the genus Anthobaphes, in the family Nectariniidae (the sunbirds and spiderhunters), though it is sometimes placed in the genus Nectarinia . The birds are sexually dimorphic, with females being olive green while the males are orange to yellow on the underside with bright green, blue and purple on the head and neck.

Contents

Taxonomy

In 1760 the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson included a description of the orange-breasted sunbird in his Ornithologie, based on a specimen collected from the Cape of Good Hope. He used the French name Le petit grimpereau a longue queue du Cap de Bonne Espérance and the Latin Certhia Longicauda Minor Capitis Bonae Spei. [2] Although Brisson coined Latin names, these do not conform to the binomial system and are not recognised by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. [3] When in 1766 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the twelfth edition, he added 240 species that had been previously described by Brisson. [3] One of these was the orange-breasted sunbird. Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the binomial name Certhia violacea and cited Brisson's work. [4] This species is now the only member of the genus Anthobaphes that was introduced by the German ornithologists Jean Cabanis in 1850. [5] The name is from the Ancient Greek anthobaphēs "bright-coloured" derived from ανθος anthos for flower and βαφη baphē for dyeing. [6]

Description

As with other sunbirds the bill is long and decurved, that of the male being longer than that of the female. The bill, legs and feet are black. The eyes are dark brown. The head, throat and mantle of the male are bright metallic green. The rest of the upper parts are olive green. The upper breast is metallic violet and the lower breast is bright orange, fading to paler orange and yellow on the belly. The tail is long and blackish, with elongated central tail feathers, which extend beyond the other feathers. The female has olive-greenish grey upperparts and olive yellowish underparts, paler on the belly. The wings and tail are blackish. The juvenile resembles the female. [7]

The call is a twangy, weak ssharaynk or sskrang, often repeated several times. [7]

Distribution and habitat

Due to its restricted range within the fynbos biome of South Africa's Western Cape, this sunbird is associated with ericas and proteas. It breeds when the heath flowers, typically in May. The male defends its territory aggressively, attacking and chasing intruders.

This tame species is a common breeder across its limited range, and is an altitudinal migrant, moving to higher altitudes during the southern summer in search of flowers. It is gregarious when not breeding, forming flocks of up to 100 birds. [7] [8]

Behaviour

Female collecting leaf hairs to line nest Female Anthobaphes.jpg
Female collecting leaf hairs to line nest

Breeding

The orange-breasted sunbird breeds from February to November (mainly in May–August). The nest, built mainly by the female, is an oval of rootlets, fine leafy twigs and grass, bound together with spider webs and lined with brown protea fluff. It has a side top entrance, but does not have a covered porch. [7] [8] The usual clutch is two eggs and the female alone incubates. The eggs hatch in about 14.5 days and both parents feed the young. The young birds are mostly fed with insect and spider prey. [9]

Food and feeding

The orange-breasted sunbird subsists on flower nectar, predominantly from ericas and proteas, although it will make use of other types of flowering plants as well. It will also take small insects and spiders, often in flight. [8]

Nest Anthobaphes violacea 273464585.jpg
Nest

Ecology

Orange-breasted sunbirds are known to pollinate Protea, Leucospermum, and Erica species, [10] [11] the flowers of which they visit for nectar. [12] They perch on the ground to visit the low flowers of Hyobanche sanguinea and Lachenalia luteola. [13] They also indulge in nectar theft from flowers with longer corolla tubes such as Chasmanthe floribunda. [14] Being fire-prone, the fynbos habitat ensures a great amount of mobility of the birds, which may have contributed to a greater level of individual genetic variability despite having a rather limited distribution range. [15]

A number of plasmodia-like blood parasites are known from the orange-breasted sunbirds. [16]

Conservation status

This species is currently classified as Least Concern by the IUCN. It may however be adversely affected by urbanisation, habitat conversion to agriculture, and fynbos fires. [1]

Related Research Articles

<i>Protea cynaroides</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae

Protea cynaroides, also called the king protea, is a flowering plant. It is a distinctive member of Protea, having the largest flower head in the genus. The species is also known as giant protea, honeypot or king sugar bush. It is widely distributed in the southwestern and southern parts of South Africa in the fynbos region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fynbos</span> Shrubland and heathland ecoregion of southwestern South Africa

Fynbos is a small belt of natural shrubland or heathland vegetation located in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa. This area is predominantly coastal and mountainous, with a Mediterranean climate and rainy winters. The fynbos ecoregion is within the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome. In fields related to biogeography, fynbos is known for its exceptional degree of biodiversity and endemism, consisting of about 80% species of the Cape floral kingdom, where nearly 6,000 of them are endemic. This land continues to face severe human-caused threats, but due to the many economic uses of the fynbos, conservation efforts are being made to help restore it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sunbird</span> Family of birds

Sunbirds and spiderhunters make up the family Nectariniidae of passerine birds. They are small, slender passerines from the Old World, usually with downward-curved bills. Many are brightly coloured, often with iridescent feathers, particularly in the males. Many species also have especially long tail feathers. Their range extends through most of Africa to the Middle East, South Asia, South-east Asia and southern China, to Indonesia, New Guinea and northern Australia. Species diversity is highest in equatorial regions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sugarbird</span> Genus of birds

The sugarbirds are a small genus, Promerops, and family, Promeropidae, of passerine birds, restricted to southern Africa. In general appearance and habits, they resemble large, long-tailed sunbirds or some of the Australian honeyeaters, but are not closely related to the former and are even more distantly related to the latter. They have brownish plumage, the long downcurved bill typical of passerine nectar feeders, and long tail feathers.

<i>Protea</i> Genus of South African flowering plants

Protea is a genus of South African flowering plants, also called sugarbushes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iridaceae</span> Family of flowering plants comprising irises, gladioli, and crocuses

Iridaceae is a family of plants in order Asparagales, taking its name from the irises, meaning rainbow, referring to its many colours. There are 66 accepted genera with a total of c. 2244 species worldwide. It includes a number of other well known cultivated plants, such as freesias, gladioli and crocuses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olive-backed sunbird</span> Species of bird

The olive-backed sunbird, also known as the yellow-bellied sunbird, is a species of sunbird found from Southern Asia to Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Purple-rumped sunbird</span> Species of bird

The purple-rumped sunbird is a sunbird endemic to the Indian Subcontinent. Like other sunbirds, they are small in size, feeding mainly on nectar but sometimes take insects, particularly when feeding young. They can hover for short durations but usually perch to lap nectar from flowers. They build a hanging pouch nest made up of cobwebs, lichens and plant material. Males are contrastingly coloured but females are olive above and yellow to buff below. Males are easily distinguished from the purple sunbird by the light coloured underside while females can be told apart from females by their whitish throats.

<i>Leucospermum</i> Genus of shrubs in the family Proteaceae

Leucospermum is a genus of evergreen upright, sometimes creeping shrubs that is assigned to the Proteaceae, with currently forty-eight known species. Almost all species are easily recognised as Leucospermum because of the long protruding styles with a thickened pollen-presenter, which jointly give the flower head the appearance of a pincushion, its common name. Pincushions can be found in South Africa, Eswatini, Zimbabwe and Mozambique.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cape sugarbird</span> Species of bird

The Cape sugarbird is one of the eight bird species endemic to the Fynbos biome of the Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cape weaver</span> Species of bird

The Cape weaver is a species of bird in the weaver family, Ploceidae, found in southern Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red-winged starling</span> Species of bird

The red-winged starling is a bird of the starling family Sturnidae native to eastern Africa from Ethiopia to the Cape in South Africa. An omnivorous, generalist species, it prefers cliffs and mountainous areas for nesting, and has moved into cities and towns due to similarity to its original habitat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malachite sunbird</span> Species of bird

The malachite sunbird is a small nectarivorous bird found from the highlands of Ethiopia southwards to South Africa. They pollinate many flowering plants, particularly those with long corolla tubes, in the Fynbos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scarlet-chested sunbird</span> Species of bird

The scarlet-chested sunbird is a species of bird in the family Nectariniidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Purple-throated sunbird</span> Species of bird

The purple-throated sunbird, is a species of bird in the family Nectariniidae. Its natural habitats are lowland tropical forests and subtropical or tropical mangrove forest of Maratua and the Philippines.

<i>Leucospermum oleifolium</i> Shrub in the family Proteaceae from the Western Cape of South Africa

Leucospermum oleifolium is an erect shrub of about 1 m (3.3 ft) high and 1½ m (5 ft) across that is assigned to the family Proteaceae. It has spreading branches, densely set with initially felty, entire, oval, olive-colored leaves of about 3½ cm long and 1½ cm (0.6 in) wide, with a bony tip that sometimes has two to five blunt teeth, with a blunt base and conspicuous veins. The flowers and their long thread-like styles are initially sulfur yellow, but soon become orange and finally turn brilliant crimson. The flower heads are about 4 cm (1.6 in) in diameter, crowded at the tip of the branches with a maximum of five that start flowering in turn. This provides for a colour spectacle from August till December. It is called by various names in South Africa such as Overberg pincushion, flame pincushion, mix pincushion and tuft pincushion. It naturally occurs in fynbos in the Western Cape province of South Africa.

<i>Leucospermum cuneiforme</i> Shrub in the family Proteaceae from the southern mountains of South Africa

Leucospermum cuneiforme is an upright evergreen shrub with many pustules growing on the lower branches, wedge-shaped leaves, and oval, initially yellow flower heads that later turn orange, with long styles sticking far beyond the perianths, jointly giving the impression of a pincushion. It is called wart-stemmed pincushion in English and luisiesbos (lice-bush) in Afrikaans. The species is common in the southern mountains of South Africa.

<i>Leucospermum calligerum</i> Shrub in the family Proteaceae from the Northern and Western Cape of South Africa

Leucospermum calligerum is a softly hairy shrub, with wand-like branches, entire ovate leaves that have a bony tip of about 25 × 6 mm, and globular heads of 2–3½ cm (0.8–1.4 in) in diameter, with two to six together near the tip of the branches and flowering in turn, that consist of 4-merous flowers, initially cream-colored, later pink, with the petals curled and the styles 2–2½ cm (0.8–1.0 in) long, sticking out like pins from a cushion. It is called arid pincushion or common louse pincushion in English and rooiluisie in Afrikaans. Well-scented flowers can be found from July to January. It naturally occurs in fynbos in the Northern Cape and Western Cape provinces of South Africa.

<i>Leucospermum tottum</i> Shrub in the family Proteaceae from the Western Cape of South Africa

Leucospermum tottum is an upright, evergreen shrub of up to 1½ m high and 2 m (6 ft) in diameter from the Proteaceae. The oblong, mostly entire leaves with a bony tip are somewhat spreading and distant from each other, and so exposing the stem. It is called elegant pincushion or ribbon pincushion in English, and oranje-rooi speldekussing or vuurhoutjies in Afrikaans. Flowers can be found between September and January. The species naturally occurs in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Two different varieties are distinguished, which are genetically very close, but differ in the color, orientation and tube-length of the flowers, the volume and sugar content of the nectar. This is probably an adaptation to different pollinators.

<i>Leucospermum arenarium</i> Species of srub in the family Proteaceae from the Western Cape province of South Africa

Leucospermum arenarium is a lax, evergreen shrub, with arching and drooping branches, that has been assigned to the family Proteaceae. It has loosely spaced, upright, greyish, narrowly egg-shaped to line-shaped leaves, mostly without teeth and flattened globe-shaped flower heads of 5–7 cm across, consisting of mostly creamy, seldom yellow flowers, that curve in the bud to the center of the head. From the center of the flowers emerge curved styles that jointly give the impression of a pincushion. The common name in English is Redelinghuys pincushion. It only occurs in a very small area in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It flowers between July and October. Unlike in related species the flowers are pollinated by hairy-footed gerbils and striped field mice.

References

  1. 1 2 BirdLife International (2016). "Anthobaphes violacea". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T22717695A94547235. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22717695A94547235.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. ↑ Brisson, Mathurin Jacques (1760). Ornithologie, ou, Méthode contenant la division des oiseaux en ordres, sections, genres, especes & leurs variétés (in French and Latin). Vol. 3. Paris: Jean-Baptiste Bauche. pp. 649–651, Plate 33 fig 6. The two stars (**) at the start of the section indicates that Brisson based his description on the examination of a specimen.
  3. 1 2 Allen, J.A. (1910). "Collation of Brisson's genera of birds with those of Linnaeus". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 28: 317–335. hdl:2246/678.
  4. ↑ Linnaeus, Carl (1766). Systema naturae : per regna tria natura, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis (in Latin). Vol. 1, Part 1 (12th ed.). Holmiae (Stockholm): Laurentii Salvii. p. 188.
  5. ↑ Cabanis, Jean; Heine, Ferdinand (1850). Museum Heineanum : Verzeichniss der ornithologischen Sammlung des Oberamtmann Ferdinand Heine, auf Gut St. Burchard vor Halberstadt (in German and Latin). Vol. 1. Halberstadt: R. Frantz. p. 103.
  6. ↑ Jobling, J.A. (2018). del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Sargatal, J.; Christie, D.A.; de Juana, E. (eds.). "Key to Scientific Names in Ornithology". Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Sinclair, Ian; Hockey, Phil; Tarboton, Warwick; Ryan, Peter (2011). Sasol Birds of Southern Africa: The Region's Most Comprehensively Illustrated Guide. Struik.
  8. 1 2 3 "Orange-breasted sunbird - Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds" (PDF).
  9. ↑ Broekhuysen, G. J. (1963). "The breeding biology of the orange-breasted sunbird Anthobaphes violacea (Linnaeus)". Ostrich. 34 (4): 187–234. doi:10.1080/00306525.1963.9633478. ISSN   0030-6525.
  10. ↑ Coetzee, A.; Seymour, C.L.; Spottiswoode, C.N. (2018). "Investigating the origins of flower colour polymorphisms in sunbird-pollinated Erica (Ericaceae)". South African Journal of Botany. 115: 282–283. doi: 10.1016/j.sajb.2018.02.029 . ISSN   0254-6299.
  11. ↑ Johnson, Christopher Michael; He, Tianhua; Pauw, Anton (2014-05-15). "Floral divergence in closely related Leucospermum tottum (Proteaceae) varieties pollinated by birds and long-proboscid flies". Evolutionary Ecology. 28 (5): 849–868. doi:10.1007/s10682-014-9712-0. ISSN   0269-7653. S2CID   1245380.
  12. ↑ Zoeller, K. C.; Steenhuisen, S.-L.; Johnson, S. D.; Midgley, J. J. (2016-03-15). "New evidence for mammal pollination of Protea species (Proteaceae) based on remote-camera analysis". Australian Journal of Botany. 64 (1): 1. doi:10.1071/BT15111. ISSN   1444-9862.
  13. ↑ Turner, R.C.; Midgley, J.J. (2016). "Sunbird-pollination in the geoflorous species Hyobanche sanguinea (Orobanchaceae) and Lachenalia luteola (Hyacinthaceae)". South African Journal of Botany. 102: 186–189. doi: 10.1016/j.sajb.2015.07.004 . ISSN   0254-6299.
  14. ↑ Geerts, S. (2016-06-08). "Can short-billed nectar thieving sunbirds replace long-billed sunbird pollinators in transformed landscapes?". Plant Biology. 18 (6): 1048–1052. doi:10.1111/plb.12474. ISSN   1435-8603. PMID   27219484.
  15. ↑ Chan, Chi-hang; Vuuren, Bettine Jansen van; Cherry, Michael I. (2011-04-01). "Fynbos fires may contribute to the maintenance of high genetic diversity in orange-breasted sunbirds (Anthobaphes violacea) : research article". South African Journal of Wildlife Research. 41 (1). hdl:10520/EJC117359. ISSN   2410-7220.
  16. ↑ Lauron, Elvin J.; Loiseau, Claire; Bowie, Rauri C. K.; Spicer, Greg S.; Smit, Thomas B.; Melo, Martim; Sehgal, Ravinder N. M. (2014). "Coevolutionary patterns and diversification of avian malaria parasites in African sunbirds (Family Nectariniidae)" (PDF). Parasitology. 142 (5): 635–647. doi:10.1017/s0031182014001681. ISSN   0031-1820. PMID   25352083.
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