Cinnyris coquerellii
The exquisite Mayotte Sunbird, Cinnyris coquerellii, is a jewel-toned passerine endemic to the small French island of Mayotte. Males are striking, featuring a shimmering iridescent green head, back, and upper breast, separated from a grey belly by a narrow blue-violet and scarlet band. Their long, decurved black bill, perfectly adapted for nectar feeding, is a distinctive field mark. Females are much duller, with olive-grey upperparts and pale greyish-white underparts, lacking the male's vibr...
Found across a variety of habitats on Mayotte, including forest edges, clearings, gardens, plantations, and coastal scrub, from sea level up to the highest elevations.
Primarily nectar from a wide range of flowering plants, supplemented with small insects and spiders gleaned from foliage.
Mayotte Sunbirds are active, diurnal foragers, often seen flitting among flowering trees and shrubs throughout the day. They employ a specialized foraging technique, frequently hovering briefly like hummingbirds or perching to probe flowers with their long, decurved bill and brush-tipped tongue t...
The Mayotte Sunbird is a truly insular species, found exclusively on the island of Mayotte, which is a French overseas department located in the northern part of the Comoros archipelago in the Indian Ocean. It is a resident species, with its distribution continuous across all suitable habitats wi...
Least Concern
- The Mayotte Sunbird is found nowhere else on Earth, being entirely endemic to the French island of Mayotte. - Its long, decurved bill and brush-tipped tongue are highly specialized tools for extracting nectar, much like those of hummingbirds in the New World. - Males exhibit dazzling iridescent...