Collared sunbird

Introduction: Collared sunbirds (Hedydipna collaris) favour forest edges and woodland as well as thick thorny savannah, usually in pairs.

Distribution: North-east Namibia only, mainly on the western section of the Bwabwata National Park, Linyanti Marshes and the Zambezi River. Common in the Okavango Delta and Moremi Game Reserve.
Diet: Hedydipna is a Greek word meaning 'sweet-feeding or sweet-eating'.

Description: A small sunbird with a short, stubby bill. Head and upper parts a bright metallic green, with a blackish tail and blackish brown flight feathers. There is a bluish-purple band across the upper breast which borders below the bright metallic green chin and throat.
Breeding: A dried grass and twiglet nest is built by the female only. From 1 to 4 eggs are laid in May or September and incubated by the female only for up to 14 days.

Size: 10cm.

Weight: 8g.