Olive sunbird

Nectarinia olivacea

Photo by Alan Manson (Wikipedia)

Common name:
olive sunbird (en); beija-flor-oliváceo (pt); souimanga olivâtre (fr); suimanga oliva (es); olivnektarvogel (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Nectariniidae

Range:
This species is found in sub-Saharan Africa, from Senegal and Guinea, along the Gulf of Guinea nations down to Gabon and northern Angola, east through D.R. Congo into Kenya and Ethiopia, and south through Tanzania, Zambia and Mozambique, and into eastern South Africa.

Size:
These birds are 13-16 cm long and weigh 11-12 g.

Habitat:
The olive sunbird is found in dense tropical forests, mangroves, dry scrublands, banana and Eucalyptus plantations and well-wooded gardens. They are present from sea level up to an altitude of 2.200 m.

Diet:
They on the nectar of a wide range of plants, as well as eating fruits, sucking fruit juices and hunting small arthropods such as termites and spiders.

Breeding:
Olive sunbirds breed in August-March. The female builds the nest alone, consisting of an elongate, pear-shaped structure made of a variety of materials, such as fine grass, twiglets, moss, lichen, leaves and Marasmius fungus bound together with spider web. It is typically attached at the roof to a branch or creeper beneath a dense canopy, or alternatively it can be put amongst roots and cavernous hollows on the ground in the forest or beside a stream, or even within a building or in a hanging basket. The female lays 1-3 eggs, which she incubates alone for 13-16 days. The chicks are fed by both parents and fledge 13-16 days after hatching.

Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
This species has a very large breeding range and is is described as common. The population is suspected to be stable in the absence of evidence for any declines or substantial threats.