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Copper Sunbird

Cinnyris cupreus

Least Concern · IUCN Red List

LCLeast ConcernNectarShrublandDomed nestTiny · 9 g
Copper Sunbird (Cinnyris cupreus), photo 1
Photo: Zac Peterson · CC BY 4.0
Copper Sunbird (Cinnyris cupreus), photo 2
Photo: Pedro Eça · CC BY 4.0
Copper Sunbird (Cinnyris cupreus), photo 3
Photo: avocat · CC BY 4.0
Copper Sunbird (Cinnyris cupreus), photo 4
Photo: avocat · CC BY 4.0
Copper Sunbird (Cinnyris cupreus), photo 5
Photo: Sabine's Sunbird · CC BY 2.5
Copper Sunbird (Cinnyris cupreus), photo 6
Photo: Sabine's Sunbird derivative work: Berichard (talk) · CC BY 2.5
Copper Sunbird (Cinnyris cupreus), photo 7
Photo: avocat · CC BY 4.0
Copper Sunbird (Cinnyris cupreus), photo 8
Photo: avocat · CC BY 4.0
Copper Sunbird (Cinnyris cupreus), photo 9
Photo: avocat · CC BY 4.0
Copper Sunbird (Cinnyris cupreus), photo 10
Photo: avocat · CC BY 4.0

ID tip

The adult male copper sunbird is about 12.5 cm (5 in) long. The subspecies C. c. cupreus inhabits the western part of its range and weighs about 7.5 to 11 g (0.26 to 0.39 oz). The male C. c. chalceus, from the eastern half, weighs 7.5 to 11 g (0.26 to 0.39 oz) while the female of both subspecies weighs 7.3 to 10.2 g (0.26 to 0.36 oz). C. c. cupreus: Senegal to east Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Ethiopia, west Kenya and west Tanzania C. c. chalceus: Angola to southeast Democratic Republic of the Congo, west Zambia, Malawi and Zimbabwe

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to see the Copper Sunbird

One bar for each month, and every month is filled: this bird is recorded here in all twelve. The wide bar is November, the month with the most records.

Where to see the Copper Sunbird

Regular rangeRare visitor

The map shades 33 countries with regular records, and 1 more in a lighter tone where the bird turns up only as a stray. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.

Uganda Nigeria Ghana Zimbabwe Zambia Gambia Kenya Congo - Brazzaville Congo - Kinshasa Côte d’Ivoire Namibia Rwanda Benin Gabon Liberia Cameroon Angola Togo Malawi Ethiopia Mozambique Senegal Botswana Tanzania Sierra Leone Guinea Guinea-Bissau Central African Republic Burundi South Sudan Mali Burkina Faso Niger

Recorded as a rare visitor in South Africa.

About the Copper Sunbird

The copper sunbird is a species of passerine bird in the family Nectariniidae. It is native to tropical Africa, its range extending from Senegal and Guinea in the west to South Sudan and Kenya in the east, and southwards to Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Easily confused with

Souimanga Sunbird (Cinnyris sovimanga) Souimanga SunbirdCinnyris sovimangaThe souimanga sunbird is 10 centimetres (3.9 in) long with a wingspan of 13 centimetres (5.1 in). Souimanga Sunbird (Cinnyris sovimanga) Souimanga SunbirdCinnyris sovimangaThe souimanga sunbird is 10 centimetres (3.9 in) long with a wingspan of 13 centimetres (5.1 in). Olive-bellied Sunbird (Cinnyris chloropygius) Olive-bellied SunbirdCinnyris chloropygiusThe olive-bellied sunbird is a small species, and very similar to the tiny sunbird (Cinnyris minullus) in appearance.

Side by side: Copper Sunbird vs Souimanga Sunbird · Copper Sunbird vs Olive-bellied Sunbird

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