ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the birds comes under the family Nectariniidae: Sunbirds, Collared sunbird, Eastern violet-backed sunbird, Variable sunbird, Shining sunbird, Little purple-banded sunbird, Violet-breasted sunbird, Mariqua sunbird, Red-chested sunbird, Smaller black-bellied sunbird, Olive-bellied sunbird, Northern double-collared sunbird, Copper sunbird, Tacazze sunbird, Golden-winged sunbird and others. The Collared Sunbird forms part of a superspecies with the Pygmy Sunbird which, in areas of apparent sympatry, is usually found in drier habitats. The Eastern Violet-backed Sunbird forms part of a superspecies with the allopatric Violet-backed and Uluguru Violet-backed Sunbirds. The Olive-bellied Sunbird forms part of a species-group with the Beautiful Sunbird, which inhabits far drier areas. In direct contrast to the Olive-bellied Sunbird, the Beautiful extends far into semiarid country. The Beautiful's range overlaps that of the Smaller Black-bellied Sunbird at QSD scale along the E periphery of the C highlands and their adjacent plateaux.
