The Seychelles sunbird (''Cinnyris dussumieri'') is a small passerine from the

sunbird 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 i ...

family. It is named after the French explorer

Jean-Jacques Dussumier Jean-Jacques Dussumier (1792–1883) was a French voyager and merchant from Bordeaux. He is known as a collector of zoological species from southern Asia and regions around the Indian Ocean between 1816 and 1840. These collections were later studie ...

. It is native to the

Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (; Seychellois Creole: ), is an island country and archipelagic state consisting of 155 islands (as per the Constitution) in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, Victoria, ...

, where it is known as ''kolibri'' in

Seychellois Creole Seychellois Creole (), also known as Kreol, Seselwa Creole French, and Seselwa Creole is the French-based creole language spoken by the Seychellois Creole people, Seychelles Creole people of the Seychelles. It is one of the national language, na ...

. This bird is placed in the genus ''Cinnyris'' by some authorities and in ''

Nectarinia ''Nectarinia'' is a genus of birds in the sunbird family (biology), family, Sunbird, Nectariniidae. What species belong to it has been highly contentious for many decades. Towards the late 20th century, the dominant trend was to use it to group ...

'' by others. Although this bird has a limited range, it is described as common and has a stable population, so the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the stat ...

has rated its conservation status as being of "

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

Description

It can reach a length from eleven to twelve centimetres. The plumage is dull grey. The male exhibits an iridescent violet-green sheen on its head and throat, brown underparts and yellow or orange tufts under its wings, which are more noticeable in flight. The long slender bill is downcurved. The legs are black. The female is an altogether duller-looking bird with pale grey underparts, and lacks the yellow . The song of the males is high pitched, noisy and harsh, interspersed with various rasping calls. The female also sings.

Distribution

The Seychelles sunbird occurs on most of the larger granitic islands of the Seychelles Bank. It belongs to the endemic landbird species of the Seychelles which had adapted to human made environment changes in the best way. Its habitat consists of forests, gardens, scrubs, and mangroves from sea level to altitudes of .

Diet

When foraging for food, this sunbird is very active, flying to ''

hibiscus ''Hibiscus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the Malva, mallow family, Malvaceae. The genus is quite large, comprising List of Hibiscus species, several hundred species that are Native plant, native to warm temperate, Subtropics, subtropical ...

'' and other flowers with undulating flight and feeding of nectar and insects.

Reproduction

Breeding is the entire year but the best time is September and October. One single egg is laid in a pear-shaped nest. It consists of grass and moss and is bound with spiderwebs. To protect the nest from cats and rats it hangs usually at the end of a twig.

References

* Robert A. Cheke, Clive Mann & Richard Allen (2001) - ''Sunbirds: A Guide to the Sunbirds, Spiderhunters, Sugarbirds and Flowerpeckers of the World'' (Helm Identification Guides), Yale University Press

External links

Ministry of Environment Seychelles - The Endemic Species of Seychelles (Animals)

Nature Seychelles - Seychelles sunbird
{{DEFAULTSORT:sunbird, Seychelles Seychelles sunbird Birds of Seychelles Seychelles sunbird Endemic fauna of Seychelles Endemic birds of Seychelles