The regal sunbird (''Cinnyris regius'') is a species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

in the family

Nectariniidae Sunbirds and spiderhunters make up the family Nectariniidae of passerine birds. They are small, slender passerines from the Old World, usually with downward-curved bills. Many are brightly coloured, often with iridescent feathers, particularly ...

. It is native to the

Albertine Rift montane forests The Albertine Rift montane forests is a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion in east-central Africa. The ecoregion covers the mountains of the northern Albertine Rift, and is home to distinct Afromontane forests with high biodiversity. G ...

Description

The regal sunbird is a small species. The adult male has head and upper parts an iridescent golden-green, dark wings and tail and a boldly-marked red and yellow breast and belly. The adult female has dull olive upper parts, with yellowish, faintly streaked underparts. The male is distinctive, but the female could be confused with the female Rockefeller's sunbird (''Cinnyris rockefelleri''), though this has a paler throat. The female

Rwenzori double-collared sunbird The Rwenzori double-collared sunbird (''Cinnyris stuhlmanni''), also called Stuhlmann's sunbird or the Rwanda double-collared sunbird, is a species of bird in the family Nectariniidae. It is found in the Ruwenzori range of mountains in south cen ...

(''Cinnyris stuhlmanni'') and the female

northern double-collared sunbird The northern double-collared sunbird (''Cinnyris reichenowi''), is a species of bird in the family Nectariniidae. It is found in Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwa ...

(''Cinnyris reichenowi'') are also similar, but these have greener upper parts and yellower underparts; another similar species is the

variable sunbird The variable sunbird or yellow-bellied sunbird (''Cinnyris venustus''), formerly ''Nectarinia venusta'', is a sunbird. The sunbirds are a group of small Old World passerine birds which feed largely on nectar, although they will also take insects ...

(''Cinnyris venustus''), but the regal can be recognised by the upper parts being more olive and the underparts a more uniform yellowish-olive.

Distribution and habitat

The regal sunbird's range spans the entire

(from Uganda to Tanzania), where it occurs between above sea level. Its habitat includes evergreen mountain forest, mixed forest, secondary growth forest, scrubland and bamboo.

Status

The regal sunbird is a common species with a very wide range. The population trend is thought to be declining because of loss of the forest habitat. However, no particular threats have been identified and the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natur ...

has assessed the bird's conservation status as being of "

least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. Th ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2668527 regal sunbird regal sunbird Taxonomy articles created by Polbot