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To the Beauty of Birds

The Golden-winged Sunbird (Drepanorhynchus reichenowi) is a species of bird in the family Nectariniidae. Three subspecies are recognised. It is found in Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda.

The male golden-winged sunbird is about 9 in long and the female is about 6 in long, the male having long central golden tail feathers. Yellow-edged feathers in the wings and tail are key identification pointers in all plumages of both the male and female. Body feathers of the male in breeding condition are a conspicuous metallic reddish-copper color, which are mostly replaced by dull-black feathers in the non-breeding condition. The underparts of the male are brownish-black. The female is olive above and yellowish below. Immature are similar to females, except their underparts are darker.

German naturalist Gustav Fischer described the golden-winged sunbird in 1884, its species name honoring Anton Reichenow. It is classified as the only species in the genus Drepanorhynchus or sometimes in the genus Nectarinia.

Three subspecies are recognised. The nominate subspecies is found in southern and western Uganda into Kenya (including Mt Kilimanjaro) and Tanzania, subspecies lathburyi is smaller and its plumage has a more red-metallic sheen and is found in more montane regions of Kenya from 1700 to 2300 m, and subspecies shellyae is found in the Democratic Republic of the Congo above 2100 m. Females of this subspecies have a grey rather than green crown.

It is found in forest verges and clearings, in cultivated areas, bamboo forest and tall grassland. The species is locally nomadic, following food supply.[3]

Golden-winged sunbirds consume the nectar from flowers of the mint Leonotis nepetifolia flowers as their main food source, but they also feed infrequently on other flower species.

The concept of economic defendability, in which the defense of a resource has costs (such as energy expenditure and risk of injury) and benefits (priority access to the resource), explains the territorial behavior that golden-winged sunbirds exhibit.

These photos were taken at the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania.

Golden-winged Sunbird