The
copper sunbird (
Cinnyris cupreus) 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. It feeds on nectar that it extracts from selected flowers, such as
Calliandra spp.,
Leonotis leonurus,
Syzygium spp., and
Senegalia polyacantha. It also takes fruits, spiders and insects, some of which are caught while in flight. This female copper sunbird of the
subspecies C. c. cupreus was photographed in a
Persian silk tree in
Kakum National Park, Ghana.
Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp