Some sunbird action on show today and I hope that the Saturday is good for everyone.
This is a male Southern Double-collared sunbird (Cinnyris chalybeus), and after the stretches I could see where he landed at the top of a tree across the road. Most times he will land in some dense trees, and then I cannot see him, but today a weak morning sun came up, and I suppose that he was seeking some warmth by sitting exposed.
Whenever a bird stretches, or fluffs, then it is preparing to fly.
Here is a description of the bird by Wikipedia.
The southern double-collared sunbird or lesser double-collared sunbird (Cinnyris chalybeus) is a small passerine bird which breeds in southern Africa. It is mainly resident, but partially migratory in the north-east of its range. This sunbird is common in gardens, fynbos, forests and coastal scrub. The southern double-collared sunbird breeds from April to December, depending on region. The closed oval nest is constructed from grass, lichen and other plant material, bound together with spider webs. It has a side entrance which sometimes has a porch, and is lined with wool, plant down and feathers.
Like I said, after the stretches, he flew and landed at the top of a tree across the road.
He let rip with his famous song to greet the day in the morning sunlight.
And then he looked at me for an applause :)
Look! he decided to come in to visit me.
Not really, as he was more interested in the nectar of the honeysuckle flowers in our garden.
They have long and thin straw like tongues and that's what they use to suck the nectar out of the flowers.
And of course he kept his eye on me. Look how his colors match the flowers and the leaves.
In some of their breeding seasons the sunbirds nest here in our small garden, but not always, as here are some pesky house cats prowling around and they will not nest in a place where there are dangers around to get their babies when they have hatched. They know us and they also know that we are not a danger to them, but still, they are small birds and very careful.
On another note, I also saw some pied crows escorting a hawk out of their territory this morning, and I will share the post of the clash soon We see regular clashes between the crows and birds of prey when they enter the crow's territory, and I have posted some of them in my blog over time. Difficult to get the clashes on camera, as it all happens very fast, but I persevere and sometimes I get it right.
Such is life.
I hope that you enjoyed the pictures and the story.
Photos by Zac Smith. All-Rights-Reserved.
Camera: Canon PowershotSX70HS Bridge camera.
Until next time, cheers!