About Cinnyris mariquensis A.Smith, 1836
The Marico sunbird (Cinnyris mariquensis) is a species of bird in the Nectariniidae family, native to woodlands of the eastern and southern Afrotropics. It is typically found in the southeast of the African continent. It is classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, and its population size remains unknown and unquantified. Conservation regions cover the whole of the Marico sunbird's range, so it is considered unlikely to go extinct. This species has been recorded in Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Between July and August 2016, Marico sunbirds were repeatedly observed in locations southwest of the species' previously documented range boundary. These observations indicated a possible southward range expansion, prompting the need for more detailed investigation of this species' changing range. The Marico sunbird's range is currently expanding into the Northern Cape and Free State provinces of central South Africa. Multiple theories have been proposed to explain why this species is shifting or expanding its range. It is thought that drought or flood events may drive the species to seek more favorable environments in nearby areas. A severe drought has impacted large areas of western and central South Africa since 2014, and this drought is a potential explanation for the Marico sunbird's southward movement. The current map of the species' changing range was created by comparing results from the first and second South African Birds Atlas Project, which were conducted around 20 years apart. It is notable that the species is expanding into southwestern Africa, into areas that are drier and have fewer trees than the woodland habitat this species typically occupies. This suggests that physiology and behavior may also play a role in the species' southwestern range shift.
