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Cinnyris mariquensis (Marico
sunbird)
[= Nectarinia mariquensis]
Maricosuikerbekkie [Afrikaans]; Kalyambya (generic term for
sunbird) [Kwangali]; Incwincwi (generic for sunbirds) [Swazi]; Nwapyopyamhanya
(generic term for sunbird) [Tsonga]; Senwabolôpe, Talętalę (generic terms for
sunbirds) [Tswana]; Marico-honingzuiger Marico, Mariqua [Dutch]; Souimanga de
Mariqua [French]; Bindennektarvogel [German]; Beija-flor de Marico [Portuguese]
Life
> Eukaryotes >
Opisthokonta
> Metazoa (animals) >
Bilateria >
Deuterostomia > Chordata >
Craniata > Vertebrata (vertebrates) > Gnathostomata (jawed
vertebrates) > Teleostomi (teleost fish) > Osteichthyes (bony fish) > Class:
Sarcopterygii (lobe-finned
fish) > Stegocephalia (terrestrial
vertebrates) > Tetrapoda
(four-legged vertebrates) > Reptiliomorpha > Amniota >
Reptilia (reptiles) >
Romeriida > Diapsida > Archosauromorpha > Archosauria >
Dinosauria
(dinosaurs) > Saurischia > Theropoda (bipedal predatory dinosaurs) >
Coelurosauria > Maniraptora > Aves
(birds) >
Order: Passeriformes > Family: Nectariniidae
Distribution and habitat
It occupies two separate areas of sub-Saharan Africa; one
population occurs from Eritrea to Tanzania while the other extends from Angola
and south-western Zambia to southern Africa. Here it is locally common from
Namibia through Botswana to Zimbabwe, southern Mozambique and northern and
north-eastern South Africa, generally preferring dry Acacia savanna,
edges of riparian woodland and broad-leaved woodland, often moving into
suburban gardens.
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Distribution of Marico sunbird in southern Africa,
based on statistical smoothing of the records from first SA Bird Atlas
Project (©
Animal Demography unit, University of
Cape Town; smoothing by Birgit Erni and Francesca Little). Colours range
from dark blue (most common) through to yellow (least common).
See here for the latest distribution
from the SABAP2. |
Predators and parasites
It is a host of the feather mite Ptilonyssus cinnyris.
Brood parasites
It has been recorded as host of the
Klaas's cuckoo.
Food
It feeds on nectar and arthropods, gleaning prey from
foliage and hawking insects aerially. The following food items have been recorded
in its diet:
- Nectar
- Acacia
- A. erubescens (Blue thorn)
- Aloe
- Bauhinia
- Cadaba termitaria (Grey-leaved wormbush)
- Crotalaria (rattle-pods)
- Erythrina (coral-trees)
- Geranium
- Kigelia africana (Sausage-tree)
- Kniphofia (torch lilies)
- Leonotis leonurus (Wild dagga)
- Loranthaceae (mistletoes)
- Peltophorum africanum (African wattle)
- alien plants
- Callistemon viminalis (Bottlebrush)
- Grevillea (silky oaks)
- Jacaranda mimosifolia (Jacaranda)
- Arthropods
Breeding
- The nest is built solely by the female in about 6-12 days, consisting of a
compact, pear-shaped structure built of dry grass reinforced with spider
web, with a side-top entrance covered by a hood of grass stems. It is
usually camouflaged using dark material, such as bark, lumps of resin, small
flowers, plant seeds, caterpillar feces and seed capsules, thickly lining
the interior with plant down or feathers to the point that the nest bulges
or even splits. It is typically attached with spider web to an upright twig
or branch in the dense foliage of a tree or bush, about 2-8 metres above
ground.
- Egg-laying season is from July-February, peaking from about
September-November.
- It lays 1-3 eggs, which are incubated solely by the female for about
13-15 days.
- The chicks are fed solely by the female, but once they fledge both
parents continue to feed them for weeks longer, still coming back to roost
in the nest every night.
Threats
Not threatened.
References
-
Hockey PAR, Dean WRJ and Ryan PG 2005. Roberts
- Birds of southern Africa, VIIth ed. The Trustees of the John Voelcker
Bird Book Fund, Cape Town.
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