Bulletin 339 - South Africa #16 - Part 1 - Sunbirds, Warblers, Whydah

I had an amazing 2 week trip to South Africa and scored almost 280 new species of birds as well as fantastic mammals and a few reptiles. My guide Casper Badenhorst was outstanding. You can see his web site here. He can be contacted through the web site or if you want his email it is info@birdingandwildlifesafaris.com. I recommend him highly as he showed me so many rare birds and animals. I will use him again when I go to Southern Africa.

Sunbirds are small nectar feeding iridescent songbirds in the Old World. All have curved bills. They occupy the same ecological niche as our hummingbirds. I saw 9 species on the trip. 

The only plain one was the 6" Olive Sunbird (Cyanomitra olivacea). It is olive above and pale yellow below.

Olive Sunbird

The 4" male Collared Sunbird (Hedydipna collaris) has iridescent green head and breast, yellow belly and thin purple band between them. This is another bird named for the least visible field mark.

Collared Sunbird - male

The 5" male Marico Sunbird (Cinnyris mariquensis) has dark green head and back, dark gray belly and a wide purple breast band.

Marico Sunbird - male

The 4" male Neergaard's Sunbird (Cinnyris neergaardi) has a green head, back and breast, charcoal belly and wide red band between.

Neergaard's Sunbird - male

 The 4" male Purple-banded Sunbird (Cinnyris bifasciatus) has a purple breast band and narrower blue one above.

Purple-banded Sunbird - male

The 4.5" male White-bellied Sunbird (Cinnyris talatala) is green with a white belly. There is a narrow purple band between but it is not visible in this photo.

White-bellied Sunbird - male

The 4.5" male Southern Double-collared Sunbird (Cinnyris chalybeus) has a grayish belly, wide red band and narrow blue band.

Southern Double-collared Sunbird - male

The 5.5" male Scarlet-chested Sunbird (Chalcomitra senegalensis) is a dark bird with a bright red breast.

Scarlet-chested Sunbird- male

Last is the most beautiful of course. The 10" male Malachite Sunbird (Nectarinia famosa) is bright iridescent green all over. It has 2 long central tail feathers.

Malachite Sunbird - male

Warblers are the name given to small songbirds in several families in the Old World. None of them are in the same family as our New World warblers.. Some of these are colorful, but many are LBJs and IDed by voice.

In the leaf warbler family, I photographed 2 species. The 4" Willow Warbler (Phylloscopus trochilus) is beige with a yellowish wash on the underside.It is a winter visitor to South Africa.

Willow Warbler

Continue to part 2

Bulletin 339 - South Africa #16 - Part 2 - Sunbirds, Warblers, Whydah

Continued from Part 1

The other is the 4" Yellow-throated Woodland Warbler (Phylloscopus ruficapilla). This is a distinctive little bird with an olive back, yellow throat and rufous crown. It is a local resident.

Yellow-throated Woodland Warbler

Next is the reed warbler family. I saw 5 species in that  group. The 6" Lesser Swamp Warbler (Acrocephalus gracilirostris) isan LBJ with a with a white line above the eye and dark legs. It is an African resident.

Lesser Swamp Warbler

The 8" Great Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus arundinaceus) is a drab brown bird with a buffy belly. It is a winter resident in southern Africa,

Great Reed Warbler

The 5" African Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus baeticatus) is another LBJ best IDed by voice.

African Reed Warbler

The next 2 actually have some color. The 6" Dark-capped Yellow Warbler (Iduna natalensis) is a bright yellow bird with a brown cap.

Dark-capped Yellow Warbler

The 5.5" Icterine Warbler (Hippolais icterina) is a yellowish warbler that is a winter resident in southern Africa.

Icterine Warbler

The last warbler is in a third family, the grassbirds. The 6" Barratt's Warbler (Bradypterus barratti) is another LBJ, but has a heavily streaked underside.

Barratt's Warbler

The last bird for this bulletin is the 13" male Pin-tailed Whydah (Vidua macroura) ia a black and white bird with a red bill and long tail feathers.

Pin-tailed Whydah

Happy birding and photography,

David McDonald

dkmmdpa@gmail.com

photos copyright 2006 - 2019 David McDonald

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