Animalia Life

Hedydipna collaris
SUBFAMILY
Nectariniinae
TAXONOMY
Cinnyris collaris Vieillot, 1819, Gamtoos River, Cape Province, South Africa. Nine subspecies.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
French: Soiumanga а collier; German: Waldnektarvogel; Spanish: Nectarina Acollarada.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
3.9–4.1 in (10–10.5 cm); male 0.19–0.39 oz (5.3–11.0 g); female 0.19–0.34 oz (5.4–9.7 g). Small and short-billed with green head to back, yellow belly with purplish dark stripe across breast.
DISTRIBUTION
H. c. collaris: eastern Cape Province to southern Kwazulu- Natal, South Africa; H. c. djamdjamensis: southwestern Ethiopia; H. c. elachior: coastal and inland Kenya, coastal Tanzania, Sudan and Somalia and Zanzibar; H. c. garguensis: western Kenya, southern Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, western Tanzania, Zambia, Angola; H. c. hypodila: Bioko, Equatorial Guinea; H. c. somereni: from southeastern Nigeria to northwestern Angola, northern Democratic Republic of the Congo to southwestern Sudan, west of the River Nile; H. c. subcollaris: Senegal to the delta of the River Niger, Nigeria; H. c. zambesiana: Angola to southern Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia, Zimbabwe, southwestern Tanzania, Zanzibar, Malawi, Mozambique, and Botswana; H. c. zuluensis: northeastern Kwazulu-Natal, eastern Swaziland, southern Mozambique, and Zimbabwe.
HABITAT
Varied. Occurs in forests, plantations, and swamps, but most common in open habitats such as clearings, savanna, thickets, and gardens.
BEHAVIOR
Commonly a member of mixed-species parties with other sunbirds, white-eyes, and warblers. Feeds acrobatically, and seen “anting.”
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Forages in low bushes but also up to 82 ft (25 m) high in forest canopy. Takes insects like a warbler does, and by aerial captures. Feeds mostly on insects, but also eats small spiders, snails, seeds, and fruits, and probes wide range of flowers for nectar.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Males defend territories with short whistling song and chase other males while making sounds with wing-flicks. May be polyandrous. Regular host of Klaas’s cuckoo (Chrysococcyx klaas). Nest pear-shaped, made of grass, dead leaves, and cobwebs, sometimes decorated with lichen, bark, or flowers. Clutch one to four eggs with white background marked with various shades of grays and browns.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Not threatened; common and widespread.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
None known.

Other popular Animals