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PLATE 104: FLYCATCHERS II AND SUNBIRDS
Blue-and-white Flycatcher Cyanoptila cyanomelana V
L: 17. Larger, longer-tailed and heavier-billed than Spotted Flycatcher. Male dark blue above, with
shining blue crown, bluish-black sides of head, throat and breast, sharply demarcated from
white belly; white sides to tail-base usually visible in flight only. Dark olive-brown female is paler
below with distinct creamy throat-patch, white belly and undertail-coverts; indistinct pale eye-
ring; first-winter male has bright blue rump and tail, latter tipped black, but white sides at base;
wings bright blue with black-tipped primaries. Upright stance with frequent slow tail movements
and wing-flicks; swoops to ground to feed, then returns to perch. Voice Grating tchach or tek-tek.
Habitat Any area with trees. Note Vagrant Oman, UAE.
Nile Valley Sunbird Hedydipna metallica rb
L: 10 (breeding male with full tail 15cm). Small with short, slightly decurved bill, which separates
it from all other sunbirds in Middle East. Male has yellow underparts with dark purple and green
upper breast and throat; note elongated tail feathers in breeding season. Female and juvenile
grey-brown above, with throat whitish and underparts washed yellow (separating it from similar
Palestine and Shining Sunbirds). Non-breeding male recalls female but underparts yellower; some
have blackish centre of chin and throat. Often flicks wings and tail. Nomadic. Voice Song soft and
high-pitched with trilling and hissing notes, pruiit-prruiit-pruuit-tiriririri-tiririri; also thin hoarse veeii-
veeii, a ptscheeciii, repeated cheeit-cheeit and tee-weee with upward inflection on last note. Habitat
Gardens, savanna, wadis with dry scrub, from sea level to 2500m, commonest at low altitudes. Oval
nest is suspended from twig. Note Resident S Oman with some post-breeding dispersal.
Palestine Sunbird Cinnyris osea RB
L: 11. Small with medium-long decurved bill. Male told from Shining Sunbird by bluer plumage,
smaller size, slightly shorter bill, absence of red breast-band and quicker flicks of shorter tail.
Female distinctly paler grey below than larger female Shining, ventral region plain, off-white.
From Purple Sunbird by different distribution, slightly longer bill; male with bluer gloss in Palestine
(greener in Purple Sunbird) and in female lack of yellow below. Flight rapid with irregular, short,
dipping undulations. Voice Fast song a high-pitched trilling dy-vy-vy-vy-vy-vy or rising tweeit-tweeit-
tweeit, accelerating and often ending in European Serin-like trill. Calls include a hard Lesser
Whitethroat-like tek or chittered tek-tek-tek, loud sweet doo-swee or dee-swit, repeated strained
cheeooo and a sharp te-veeit, te-veeit, the second note stressed and rising. Habitat Well-vegetated
areas, including rocky wadis, plains with acacias, riverbanks, gardens, from sea level to 3200m.
Nest suspended on tree or bush. Note Resident S Oman.
Shining Sunbird Cinnyris habessinicus RB
L: 13. Medium-sized with long decurved bill. All plumages much darker below than other sunbirds
in region. Male bright metallic-green with broad, though inconspicuous, reddish breast-band
(absent in male Palestine Sunbird). Female dark sooty-grey, slightly paler below, but much
darker than female Palestine; feathers of ventral region fringed whitish. Juvenile male resembles
female but has black centre of throat and often a dark breast-patch, whitish fore-supercilium
and moustache. Non-breeding male like female but with some green on head, back and breast.
Has rather pronounced, slow flicking of longer, broader tail than Palestine and flight has longer,
deeper undulations. Voice Fast song fluty and trilling tuu-tuu-tuu-tuu-vita-vita-vita-du-du-du-du, often
ending in Winter Wren-like trill. Sub-song a fast whispering warble. Calls include a distinctive loud
winnowing whistle and a hard dzit. Habitat Luxuriant vegetation in wadis; dry savanna scrub,
250–2500m but mostly lower and middle altitudes. Bottle-shaped nest suspended in tree or bush.
Note Resident S Oman.
Purple Sunbird Cinnyris asiaticus RB
L: 10. Resembles Palestine Sunbird but bill slightly shorter, less decurved and has different
distribution. Metallic bluish-black male sometimes has a narrow red-brown breast-band; mousey-
brown female has underparts washed yellow (pale greyish in female Palestine). Male in eclipse
(Sep–Dec) like female but underparts yellower with dark line down centre of throat and breast. Short-
tailed, hummingbird-like appearance, feeding largely on nectar from flowers, with corresponding
seasonal movements. Voice Excited song repeated two to six times, cheewit-cheewit..., with
Willow Warbler-like cadence. Male’s sub-song is a low twitter; calls dzit-dzit and pronounced tsweet.
Habitat Gardens, cultivation, tamarisks along rivers, thorn scrub, dry forest, stony desert with
flowering trees and shrubs (acacias, Sodom Apple Calotropis procera), mangroves. Hanging nest is
pear-shaped, suspended in tree or bush. Note Resident N Oman and UAE. Vagrant Kuwait.