Bird Guide

Northern Double-collared Sunbird vs Olive-bellied Sunbird

Northern Double-collared Sunbird (Cinnyris reichenowi)

Northern Double-collared Sunbird

Cinnyris reichenowi

Tiny7 gForest

The northern double-collared sunbird is a medium-sized species. The adult male's head and back is a metallic green that has a steely-blue sheen in some lights. The rump is greyish-brown, the uppertail coverts metallic purple and the tail black, glossed blue. The main flight feathers are dark brown. There is a narrow purple collar beneath the metallic green throat, above a scarlet breast and pale brown belly. There are pale yellow pectoral tufts that are not always visible. The eye is black or dark brown, and the beak and legs are black.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Northern Double-collared Sunbird
Recorded by Anne Ndung'u · Song · Nairobi, Nairobi County, Kenya · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Oscar Hopgood · CC BY 4.0
Olive-bellied Sunbird (Cinnyris chloropygius)

Olive-bellied Sunbird

Cinnyris chloropygius

Tiny6 gShrubland

The olive-bellied sunbird is a small species, and very similar to the tiny sunbird (Cinnyris minullus) in appearance. The adult male has a metallic green head, back and throat, dark brown wings, a metallic blue rump and a black tail with a purplish-blue sheen. It has a narrow blue breast band above a wider scarlet breast patch, lemon-yellow pectoral tufts and an olive belly. It differs from the slightly smaller tiny sunbird in having a larger beak and no blue bars among the red breast plumage. The adult female has an olive-brown head and upper parts, dark brown wings and dark brown tail.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Robert Hoehndorf · CC BY 4.0

Where you might meet both

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Northern Double-collared Sunbird and Olive-bellied Sunbird.