Olive-backed sunbird

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

Taxonomy

In 1760 the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson included a description of the olive-backed sunbird in his ''Ornithologie'' based on a specimen collected in the Philippines. He used the French name ''Le petit grimpereau des Philippines'' and the Latin ''Certhia Philippensis Minor''. The two stars (**) at the start of the section indicates that Brisson based his description on the examination of a specimen. Although Brisson coined Latin names, these do not conform to the binomial system and are not recognised by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. 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. One of these was the olive-backed sunbird. Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the binomial name ''Certhia jugularis'' and cited Brisson's work. The specific name ''jugularis'' is Medieval Latin for 'of the throat'. This species is now placed in the genus ''Cinnyris'' that was introduced by the French naturalist Georges Cuvier in 1816. Currently, there are 21 subspecies described, but there is a growing body of evidence to suggest these subspecies may represent multiple cryptic species.

Description

They are small songbirds, at most long. In most subspecies, the underparts of both male and female are bright yellow, the backs are a dull brown colour. The forehead, throat and upper breast of the adult male is a dark, metallic blue-black. In the Philippines the males of some subspecies have an orange band on the chest, in Wallacea and northern New Guinea some subspecies have most of the underparts blackish, and in southern China and adjacent parts of Vietnam most of the underparts of the male are greyish-white.

Distribution and habitat

The olive-backed sunbird is common across southern China and Southeast Asia to Queensland and the Solomon Islands. Originally from mangrove habitat, the olive-backed sunbird has adapted well to humans, and is now common even in fairly densely populated areas, even forming their nests in human dwellings.Olive-backed Sunbird

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Behaviour

Breeding

The birds mate between the months of April and August in the Northern Hemisphere, and between August and January in the Southern Hemisphere.Breeding biology of the Yellow-bellied Sunbird Nectarinia jugularis in Northern Queensland
/ref> Both the male and the female assist in building the nest which is flask-shaped, with an overhanging porch at the entrance, and a trail of hanging material at the bottom end.

After building the nest, the birds abandon the nest for about a week before the female returns to lay one or two greenish-blue eggs. The eggs take 2 weeks to hatch. The female may leave the nest for short periods during the day during incubation. After the chicks have hatched, both male and female assist in the care of the young, which leave the nest about two or three weeks later.

Feeding

The sunbirds are a group of very small Old World passerine birds which feed largely on nectar, although they will also take insects, especially when feeding young. Their flight is fast and direct on their short wings. Most species can take nectar by hovering, but usually perch to feed most of the time.

Gallery

File:Olive-backed Sunbird hovering.jpg,
File:Olive-backed Sunbird - Wyvuri.jpg,
File:Nectarinia jugularis - Manado.JPG,
File:Nectarinia jugularis (2) - Manado.JPG,
Olive-backed sunbird (Cinnyris jugularis flammaxillaris) female Phi Phi.jpg, Female ''C. j. flammaxillaris''
Thailand
Olive-backed sunbird (Cinnyris jugularis flammaxillaris) male eclipse plumage Phi Phi.jpg, Male ''C. j. flammaxillaris''
eclipse plumage, Thailand

References

* ''Sunbirds'' by Cheke, Mann and Allen,

External links

*Olive-backed sunbird videos, photos & sounds
on the Internet Bird Collection.


* ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFA33eX7QKs&feature=c4-overview&list=UUDs9YtIHWB2Vh1KDNNV98JQ Yellow-bellied sunbird videobr>Images of female and chicks in nest

{{Taxonbar, from=Q766717

olive-backed sunbird
Birds of South China
Birds of Singapore
Birds of Southeast Asia
Birds of New Guinea
Birds of the Solomon Islands
Birds of Queensland
olive-backed sunbird
olive-backed sunbird