Cape sugarbird

The Cape sugarbird (Promerops cafer)[2] is one of the eight bird species endemic to the Fynbos biome of the Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa.[3]

Cape sugarbird
Male in South Africa
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Promeropidae
Genus: Promerops
Species:
P. cafer
Binomial name
Promerops cafer
Synonyms

Merops cafer Linnaeus, 1758

Description

The Cape sugarbird is a grey-brown bird that is easily recognisable by a spot of yellow under its tail and the very long tail feathers present in males. The male is 34–44 cm long, and the shorter-tailed, shorter-billed, and paler breasted female 25–29 cm long. Another characteristic of the Cape sugarbird is the sound it makes when it flies. The main flight feathers are arranged in such a way that when the bird beats its wings, a frrt-frrt sound is made with the intention of attracting females.[4]

Distribution and status
Female in South Africa

The Cape sugarbird is distributed throughout most of the fire driven ecosystem of the Fynbos in South Africa, the dominant vegetation type of the Cape Floral Region where there are flowering proteas and ericas. It is most common in areas that have not burnt recently, and almost absent from recently burnt areas.[5] It is also found in gardens in summer when most proteas are not in flower, but urban birds are associated with greater stress measures.[6] With a large population and extensive range,[5] the Cape sugarbird is evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.[1]

Behaviour

Food and feeding
Male drinking nectar from a Protea cynaroides in South Africa

The Cape sugarbird is a specialist nectar feeder when it comes to feeding off Proteaceae. Its long, sharp beak is used to reach the nectar of a variety of species of protea with its long brush-tipped tongue. The staple diet of this sugarbird is nectar; however, it will also eat spiders and insects. The characteristic strong winds in the Cape may make feeding off protea heads difficult, but the Cape sugarbird has adapted to this with the development of sharp claws.[4]

Breeding

The breeding season for the Cape sugarbird is winter when food supplies are ample.[4] Breeding males set up territories in mature stands of Protea bushes, where they perform vocal displays.[7]

References
  1. BirdLife International (2012). "Promerops cafer". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2012. Retrieved 26 November 2013.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  2. Note: the name "cafer" is Modern Latin for Caffer, an adjective meaning South African, or of South Africa (Caffraria). 
    Aasheesh Pittie. "A dictionary of scientific bird names originating from the Indian region". Retrieved 11 September 2015.
  3. Wright D.R, Lee A.T.K. 2017. Bird -friendly Habitat Management Guidelines for the endemic birds of the Fynbos Biome. Johannesburg, South Africa: BirdLife South Africa.
  4. Ian Sinclair; Phil Hockey & Warwick R. Tarboton (2002). SASOL Birds of Southern Africa. Struik Publishers. ISBN 1-86872-721-1.
  5. Lee, A.T.K, Altwegg, R. & Barnard, P. 2017. Estimating conservation metrics from atlas data: the case of southern African endemic birds. Bird Conservation International.
  6. Mackay, B., Lee, A.T.K., Barnard, P., Møller, A. P., & Brown, M. 2017. Urbanization, climate and ecological stress indicators in an endemic nectarivore, the Cape Sugarbird. Journal of Ornithology, 1-12.
  7. Lee, A.T.K. & Barnard, P; Hockey, P. 2015. Population metrics for fynbos birds, South Africa: densities, and detection and capture rates from a Mediterranean-type ecosystem. Ostrich. 86(1-2). 179-186.
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