Greater Double-collared Sunbird ( Cinnyris afer, family: Nectariniidae)

greater double collared sun kruger national park birds The Greater Double-collared Sunbird (Latin name Cinnyris afer) is described in Roberts Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition. This bird has a unique Roberts number of 785 and you will find a full description of this bird on page 990 also a picture of the Greater Double-collared Sunbird on page 977. The Greater Double-collared Sunbird belongs to the family of birds classified as Nectariniidae.

In the previous edition of Roberts (ie 6th edition) the Greater Double-collared Sunbird was called the . The Robert's 7 Latin name for Greater Double-collared Sunbird has changed from Nectarinia afra in Robert's 6 to Cinnyris afer.

The map of the Kruger you see on this page shows the areas (coloured orange) where this bird has been identified. The basic information was provided by the Avian Demographic Unit based at UCT and I created the maps from that information ... the green dots show the locations of the various Kruger National Park Rest Camps

Endemic species is one that is confined to a specific country or region. For example certain birds endemic to South Africa only exist in that country. One such example is the Greater Double-collared Sunbird and this species depends upon a particular habitat for survival. Destroy that habitat and the bird will possibly be lost forever.

In terms of distribution of the Greater Double-collared Sunbird in the Kruger National Park you may not see it in all areas. Greater Double-collared Sunbird has been recorded in only 1 sections of the arbitrary Kruger Park regions I selected.

Identification assistance for this avian species ...

One of the first indicators to take note of when trying to identify a bird is it relative size. For example how big is the bird compared to a well known familiar bird. The Greater Double-collared Sunbird is a small bird about the size of a house sparrow. Do not take this relative indicator as anything other than a rough easy to remember indicator. It is not a accurate visualization. The height of the Greater Double-collared Sunbird is about 15 cms and its weight is about 11 gms

You will find that the male Greater Double-collared Sunbird plumage and colours are different to that of the female Greater Double-collared Sunbird

  • Head is green.
  • Eye is brown.
  • Bill is black.
  • Throat is green.
  • Back is green.
  • Legs are black.

This bird has normally proportioned leg length.

Main diet items for this bird ...

The Greater Double-collared Sunbird feeds on the ground, and on the wing mainly

Invertebrates

Nectar

Breeding and nesting habits for this bird ...

The Greater Double-collared Sunbird is monogamous unless its mate dies. In the event of a partner dying Cinnyris afer will seek out a new mate

The nesting habit of Greater Double-collared Sunbird is to create the nest in branches of a tree or shrub. The bird lays eggs which are green in colour and number between 1 to 2

Habitat and flocking behaviour for this bird ...

The preferred habitats for Greater Double-collared Sunbird are: woodlands and grasslands and riverine areas. The Greater Double-collared Sunbird is also at home in wetland and bushveld areas.

You can see Greater Double-collared Sunbird in flocks. The bird will often also be seen singly.

Names of this avian species in other languages ...

Xhosa ... Ingcungcu

Zulu ... iNcuncu/iNcwincwi

Afrikaans ...Groot-rooibandsuikerbekkie

German ... Groer Halsband-Nektarvogel

Portuguese ... Beija-flor-de-banda-larga

French ... Souimanga plastron rouge

Dutch ... Grote Kraaghoningzuiger

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For in-depth birding information please refer to these authoritative avian references ...

Robert's 7th edition number ... 785

The main reference source for this data was "Roberts - Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition" . Other references were "Newmans Birds of the Kruger Park" by Keith Newman published circa 1980 . Names in foreign languages were obtained from the Percy Fitzpatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town website , www.fitzpatrick.uct.ac.za