The green-headed sunbird is a species of bird in the family Nectariniidae. It is found in Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, and Zambia.
Region
West and Central Africa into parts of East and Southern Africa
Typical Environment
Occurs widely from West Africa through the Congo Basin to parts of East Africa, including forest edges, secondary growth, gallery forests, woodland, and cultivated areas with flowering plants. Common in cocoa and coffee plantations, village gardens, and along roadsides with nectar-rich shrubs. Often found at forest margins where sunlit flowers are abundant. It adapts well to human-modified landscapes provided flowering resources persist.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 2400 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
Green-headed sunbirds are agile nectar specialists that play an important role as pollinators across African forests and woodlands. Males show striking iridescence that can look dull until light hits the feathers at the right angle. They also take small insects and spiders, especially when feeding chicks. Their curved bills and brush-tipped tongues are adapted for probing tubular flowers.
Temperament
social and active
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats
Social Behavior
Typically seen in pairs or small loose groups and may join mixed-species flocks at forest edges. Males can be territorial around rich flowering patches. Nests are suspended, purse-like structures woven from plant fibers and spider webs, often placed in low vegetation. Both adults attend the nest, with increased insect capture during chick-rearing.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Gives high, thin, rapid twitters and metallic chips, often delivered from a perch near flowering trees. Song bouts are lively and variable, interspersed with sharp contact calls.
