Grey Sunbird

Cyanomitra veroxii

Coastal forests. Entirely grey, darker above; slender, down-curved beak.

Sunbirds

Not Endemic

Description

Common, localised resident. A large sunbird of similar proportions to [Malachite Sunbird]; differs from that species in more decurved bill and black (male) or streaked (female) belly. Male told from [Copper Sunbird] by long tail-shafts; female by streaked underparts. Call is a shrill ‘chee-oo, chee-oo’ or ‘pee-view, pee-view’. Pairs occur in montane grassland, montane forest fringes and woodland in eastern Zimbabwe and Mozambique.

Quick Facts

Bird Family

Small, insectivorous and nectar-drinking birds with decurved bills adapted to flower-probing. Males have iridescent plumage and yellow, orange or red tufts on the sides of the breast (pectoral tufts) that are displayed in excitement. Some males undergo an annual eclipse when they adopt drab, non-breeding plumage resembling the normal plumage of the female. Immatures are like females, often with a dark throat. Their flight is swift and erratic, males spending much time chasing females and other males. They gather in numbers when favoured nectar-rich plants are in blossom.