About Cinnyris afer (Linnaeus, 1766)
This species of sunbird, Cinnyris afer, reaches 14 cm in total length and shows clear sexual dimorphism. Adult males have glossy, metallic green plumage covering the head, throat, upper breast, and back. A broad, bright red band stretches across the chest, which is separated from the green upper breast by a narrow metallic blue band. The remaining underparts are pale grey, and yellow feather tufts become visible on the shoulders during courtship displays. Females have overall pale grey plumage, with darker grey coloration on the wings. Like other sunbird species, Cinnyris afer has a long, decurved bill. Its bill, legs, and feet are black, and the eye is dark brown. Males of this species can be told apart from the visually similar lesser double-collared sunbird by that species' smaller size, narrower red chest band, and shorter bill. The call of Cinnyris afer is a hard chut-chut-chut, while its song is a high-pitched jumble of tweets and twitters, richer in quality than the vocalizations of the lesser double-collared sunbird. Cinnyris afer breeds in southern South Africa. It is mostly a non-migratory resident species, though populations are partially migratory in the northeastern part of its range. It is common in habitats including gardens, fynbos, forest edges, and coastal scrub.
