The yellow-chinned sunbird is a species of bird in the family Nectariniidae. It is found in West Africa, namely Sierra Leone to Ghana. The grey-chinned sunbird was formerly grouped with this species.
Region
West Africa
Typical Environment
Occurs from Sierra Leone east through Liberia and Côte d’Ivoire to Ghana, mainly within the Upper Guinea rainforest belt. It inhabits lowland and foothill moist evergreen and semi-deciduous forests, forest edges, and gallery forests. The species adapts to secondary growth and frequents cocoa and coffee plantations when flowering resources are abundant. It typically forages from understory to mid-canopy, especially along sunlit edges and clearings.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 1500 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
A small West African sunbird, it feeds primarily on nectar but also hawks tiny insects, acting as both pollinator and pest controller. The grey-chinned sunbird was formerly treated as conspecific but is now split, with the yellow-chinned population confined to Upper Guinea forests. It forages actively in the mid-canopy and along forest edges, often visiting flowering shrubs and plantations.
Temperament
active and moderately territorial
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats with quick, darting flights between flowering plants
Social Behavior
Usually seen singly or in pairs, sometimes joining mixed-species flocks at flowering trees. Nests are small, pendant or cup-like structures placed in shrubs or low branches; both sexes help provision the young, with the female often leading nest construction. Courtship involves short song bursts and chases around nectar sources.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
A thin, high-pitched series of tseet and tsee notes, delivered in short bursts. Contact calls are sharp and metallic, often given while foraging among flowers.
Plumage
Mostly olive-green above with duller, grey-olive underparts and a distinct yellow chin/throat patch; plumage is relatively plain for a sunbird with subtle gloss. Feathers are smooth and sleek, aiding agile movement through foliage.
Diet
Takes nectar from a variety of flowers, probing with its slender bill and occasionally robbing nectar from the side of blossoms. Supplements its diet with small insects and spiders gleaned from leaves and hawked in short sallies. Will also take honeydew and occasionally tiny berries when available.
Preferred Environment
Feeds along forest edges, in clearings, and at flowering shrubs and trees in primary and secondary forest. Common at flowering trees in cocoa and coffee plantations and village gardens near forest.
