Birds of the World
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Order
Passeriformes
Family
Nectariniidae
Genus
Cinnyris
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Rockefeller's Sunbird Cinnyris rockefelleri Scientific name definitions

Robert Cheke and Clive Mann
Version: 1.0 — Published March 4, 2020
Text last updated January 1, 2008

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Originally Appeared in

HBW Alive

Field Identification

12 cm; 5–5·5 g. Male has head to rump, including scapulars, bright metallic green with golden tinge, uppertail-coverts glossy violet-blue, tail blue-black; remiges black-brown, outer portions of outer webs edged olive-green, as are lesser and median wing-coverts, secondaries have unusually long outer webs (conspicuous even when wing folded); chin to upper breast metallic green, bordered below by narrow (4 mm) violet band, upper belly bright scarlet, bordered by yellow (sometimes belly brighter scarlet than lower breast, as some yellow feathers intermixed), pectoral tufts bright yellow; lower belly, flanks and thighs dark olive-green with some brighter olive-green streaks, undertail-coverts scarlet; underwing-coverts dull white, some tipped olive, undersides of remiges with white borders on outer edges of inner webs; iris brown; bill and legs black. Female has dark olive and black forehead and crown (appearing mottled), conspicuous pale olive supercilium reaching 3 mm behind eye, black lores and thin eyestripe, pale yellow-olive ear-coverts; upperparts dark olive-green, rounded tail dark brown, central feather pair tinged dark blue and 3 mm longer than outermost rectrix, remiges dark brown, broadly edged yellow-green, outer webs of secondaries elongated as in male; chin and throat yellowish-green, chest and breast darker, lower belly and undertail-coverts bright olive-green with creamy yellow tinge (but duller than chin and throat), underwing-coverts white with yellowish edges (visible on folded wing), underside of remiges grey-brown, inner webs edged white; bare parts as male. Juvenile undescribed.

Systematics History

Monotypic.

Subspecies

Monotypic.

Distribution

Mountains of E DRCongo.

Habitat

Highland valleys and streams in tall bamboo and heath (Ericaceae) zones, including arborescent heather at 2050–3300 m.

Movement

No data.

Diet and Foraging

Few data. Diet insects and, presumably, nectar. Forages singly and in pairs; occasionally joins mixed-species flocks.

Sounds and Vocal Behavior

Song apparently undescribed. Contact calls reported as harsh “schick schick”.

Breeding

Birds with enlarged gonads in May and in primary moult in Jul. No other information.

Conservation Status

Conservation status on Birdlife VU Vulnerable

VULNERABLE. Restricted range species: present in Albertine Rift Mountains EBA. Poorly known. Thought to have very small population, estimated at merely 250–999 individuals, which is considered stable. Occurs in N Itombwe Mts and mountains to N & W of L Kivu, in E DRCongo; single unconfirmed records from Rwegura, in Burundi, and Nyungwe, in Rwanda. Maximum potential area of distribution estimated as 9800 km². Parts of restricted range probably threatened by deforestation. Some protection afforded by the Kahuzi-Biéga National Park, W of L Kivu, but illegal activities known to take place there at times (e.g. armed militias carried out illegal hunting, logging and mining in 2001). Protection of Itombwe Mts should be sought as a priority.

Distribution of the Rockefeller's Sunbird - Range Map
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  • Year-round
  • Migration
  • Breeding
  • Non-Breeding
Distribution of the Rockefeller's Sunbird

eBird and Macaulay Library

Recommended Citation

Cheke, R. and C. Mann (2020). Rockefeller's Sunbird (Cinnyris rockefelleri), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.rocsun2.01
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