Sunbirds (“suikerbekkies”) are a group of birds in which the males usually have colourful, glittering plumage, and seen around flowers where they feed on the rich nectar.
In the Northern Cape there are three species that can be seen in gardens and landscaped areas.
The most common is the white-bellied sunbird (“witpenssuikerbekkie”), the dusky sunbird (“Namakwasuikerbekkie”), and the far less common Marico sunbird (“Maricosuikerbekkie”), whose prevalence is restricted to the north-eastern parts of the province. The aloe garden in Prieska is a good place to find all three species.
Sunbirds breed in winter and spring, and one usually finds the males in their finest and brightest plumage from April to October. They tend to lose these bright colours during summer.
The females are usually dull shades of brown and are often difficult to identify unless they are seen together with the males.
An interesting characteristic is that most males, during breeding, have very bright epaulettes or pectoral tufts – small feathers on the shoulder of the wing, which they flash when displaying to females. Dusky sunbirds have bright orange tufts, while the tufts of the white-bellied are bright yellow, and the Marico sunbird lacks any tufts.
They are attracted to nectar feeders, which one can hang in a tree, and sunbirds will soon find their way to feed from these artificial feeding stations. The solution of sugar water should be one-part brown sugar to four parts water, which is a concentration quite close to nectar concentrations found in nature. Boil the water, dissolve the sugar, allow to cool and add to the feeder bottle.
These delightful birds are a spectacle to watch. If you want to attract them, consider making a rockery and planting a variety of aloes, pokers and wild dagga; or hang a nectar feeder, and you will soon be enjoying visiting sunbirds.
