Scarlet-chested Sunbird

The Scarlet-chested Sunbird is a common and widespread sunbird found across much of sub-Saharan Africa, familiar in gardens, savanna, and woodland edges. The male appears mostly blackish-brown at a distance, but at close range or in good light reveals an iridescent green forehead and malar stripe framing a brilliant scarlet-red throat and upper breast patch, one of the most vivid field marks among African sunbirds.

The female is much duller, dark brownish-grey above with heavily mottled, dusky underparts, lacking the male's colorful patches. Both sexes share the long, thin, downcurved bill typical of sunbirds, adapted for probing tubular flowers.

It is a familiar and vocal bird across much of its range, often one of the first sunbirds noticed by visitors to African gardens and reserves.

Key field marks

• Male: mostly sooty blackish-brown body with an iridescent green forehead and malar stripe and a bright scarlet throat-to-breast patch
• Female: dark brownish-grey above, underparts densely mottled with dusky spotting
• Long, slender, strongly decurved black bill
• Fairly large, robust build for a sunbird

Similar species

• Hunter's Sunbird and other Chalcomitra species can show similar dark plumage with red patches but differ in range and the exact extent/shape of the red throat patch.
• Amethyst Sunbird male looks blackish overall but lacks the scarlet throat patch, instead showing a purple crown and throat.
• Female Scarlet-chested Sunbirds are best separated from other dull brown sunbirds by their heavily mottled underparts and larger size.

Range

Widely distributed across sub-Saharan Africa, from Senegal and Mauritania in the west, east to Ethiopia and Somalia, and south through East Africa to South Africa.

Habitat

Occupies a broad range of open habitats including savanna, woodland edge, thornveld, cultivated land, and gardens, generally avoiding dense unbroken forest.

Movements

Mostly resident, though it can be locally nomadic, following the flowering of favored nectar plants such as Aloes and Erythrina (coral trees).

Behavior

Active and often conspicuous, perching on exposed twigs and wires while singing, and readily visits garden flowers, making it one of the more familiar sunbirds to people across its range.

Voice

Gives a loud, cheerful, chattering song with sharp, repeated phrases, along with sharp "chip" or "tsip" call notes, often delivered from a high perch.

Feeding

Feeds chiefly on nectar from a wide variety of flowering plants and shrubs, using its long curved bill, and also catches small insects and spiders both by gleaning and by hawking in flight.

Nesting and breeding

Builds an oval, domed nest of grass, plant fibers, and spider web with a side entrance, typically suspended from a low branch or shrub. The female generally builds the nest and incubates the eggs alone, while the male may assist in feeding the chicks once hatched.