Animalia Life
Chalcomitra senegalensis
SUBFAMILY
Nectariniinae
TAXONOMY
Certhia senegalensis Linnaeus, 1766, Senegal. Five subspecies.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
English: Scarlet-breasted sunbird, scarlet-throated sunbird;
French: Souimanga а poitrine rouge; German: Rotbrust-
Glanzkцpfchen; Spanish: Nectarina de Pecho Carmнn.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
5.1–5.9 in (13–15 cm); male 0.26–0.61 oz (7.5–17.2 g), female
0.24–0.54 oz (6.8–15.3 g). Mostly black, fading to brownish
black. Bright red throat and chest with iridescent blue speckles.
Glossy green forehead, crown, and chin.
DISTRIBUTION
C. s. acik: northern Cameroon to western and southern Sudan,
Central African Republic, northeastern Democratic Republic of
the Congo and northeastern Uganda; C. s. cruentata: southeastern
Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, northern Kenya; C. s. gutturalis:
northern Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola, northern
Namibia, northern Botswana, northern and eastern South
Africa, Swaziland, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi
and Zanzibar; C. s. lamperti : Democratic Republic of the
Congo, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, southern Sudan,
and western Tanzania; C. s. senegalensis: Senegal to Nigeria.
HABITAT
Wooded savanna, thorn scrub, gallery forests, inselbergs,
coastal habitats, farmland, plantations, parks, and gardens.
BEHAVIOR
Partial migrant, with some birds moving with rain fronts; a
banded bird traveled 224 mi (360 km) in Zimbabwe. Noisy and
conspicuous, forming groups of up to 20 birds at flowering
trees. Aggressive, apparently defends feeding territories as well
as breeding domains. Territorial; male advertises presence from
tall perch while singing agitated twittering song.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Feeds on nectar and insects such as ants, beetles, moths, and
termites, as well as spiders. Hovers in front of leaves for insects
and flowers for nectar.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Clutch of one to three whitish eggs with brown markings laid
in domed nest with prominent porch of dried grasses above
entrance hole, suspended from tree or human-made support.
May be double- or triple-brooded, sometimes reuses same nest
for each brood. Both parents feed young. Nests parasitized by
Klaas’s cuckoo, emerald cuckoo (Chrysococcyx cupreus), and by
honeyguides, including greater honeyguide (Indicator indicator).
CONSERVATION STATUS
Not threatened.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
Minor pest in Zimbabwe where it damages commercial crops of
proteas. Also pollinates mistletoe pests of cocoa in West Africa.
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Photo Gallery of - Scarlet-chested sunbird
