Monday, 29 March 2021

Sunbirds

 
Watch the video on the Sunbird and hatchlings or baby birds, videos and photographs taken on February 2020

  Sunbirds are tropical nectar-sipping birds belonging to the family Nectariniidae. Some members of the family are called "spiderhunters", but all are considered to be "sunbirds".  Like unrelated hummingbirds, they feed primarily on nectar. However, most sunbirds have curved bills and perch to feed rather than hover like hummingbirds. 

 A sunbird dips its curved bill into a flower or else pierces its base and then sips nectar using a long, tubular tongue. Sunbirds also eat fruit, small insects, and spiders. While hummingbirds hover to feed, sunbirds land and perch on flower stalks. 

 Female sunbirds use spiderwebs, leaves, and twigs to build purse-shaped nests and suspend them from branches. However, spiderhunter nests are woven cups attached beneath large leaves. The female lays up to four eggs. Except for spiderhunters, only sunbird females incubate the eggs. Purple sunbird eggs hatch after 15 to 17 days. Male sunbirds help rear the nestlings. Sunbirds live between 16 and 22 years. 

 
Discovered the loose strands of fibres on the branches (25 March 2021), the sunbirds came to build nest again!

29 March 2021 the shape of the bird nest can roughly to be seen now

Nests are constructed by female sunbirds. They are compact, purse-shaped shelters suspended from tree branches with a single central entrance. A variety of fibers are used in nest construction, including bark, twigs, dried grass, leaves, vegetable down, plants stems, feathers, and snakeskin. It is tightly bound with spider’s silk, especially at the entrance and where it is attached to a branch.


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