THE orangebreasted sunbird is a common resident of the Western Cape and eastward to Port Elizabeth.
They have a very soft, tinny twangy sibilant call note.
The male has a sharp ‘ke- ke- ke- ke’ call when chasing the female.
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Found solitary or in pairs when breeding, this sunbird is otherwise found in loose flocks of up to 100 birds. They have a flitting and hovering display in flight. They regularly bath in dew, on the leaves and hawks its prey in flight.
Their food comprises of nectar, insects and spiders.
These sunbirds favour fynbos with protea and erica in winter-rainfall regions, from sea level to bleak mountain slopes.
Breeding season is from February to November.
Two white or grey-green eggs are laid in an oval nest made of rootlets, leafy twigs and grass and which is bound with spider web. The nest is usually less than a metre above the ground in low shrub or bush.
Incubation lasts 14 to 15 days and nestlings remain for 19 to 22 days.
The Afrikaans name is Oranjeborssuiker bekkie. There is no known Zulu name as the bird is not found in KZN.
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