“His name shall endure for ever: his name shall be continued as long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him blessed.” (Psalms 72:17 KJV)
Fork-tailed Sunbird (Aethopyga christinae) ©WikiC male
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Lovely Sunbird (Aethopyga shelleyi) ©WikiC
Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food”; and it was so. (Genesis 1:30 NKJV)
The 143 Nectariniidae – Sunbird Family members are beautiful birds from their Creator’s Hand, who has equipped them to be perfectly suited for their habitat and food sources.
The sunbirds and spiderhunters make up a family, Nectariniidae, of passerine birds. They are small, slender passerines from Old World, with long, usually decurved bill and some species with long tail; many brightly coloured, most with some iridescence, particularly in male. They are living from Africa to Australia, across Madagascar, Egypt, Iran, Yemen, Southern China, Indian subcontinent, Indochinese peninsulas, Philippines, Southeast Asian to nearby Pacific Islands and just reaches northern Australia. The number of species is greater in equatorial and tropical areas.
Malachite Sunbird (Nectarinia famosa) ©©Rainbirder
Most sunbirds feed largely on nectar, but also take insects and spiders, especially when feeding young. Flower tubes that bar access to nectar because of their shape, are simply punctured at the base near the nectaries. Fruit is also part of the diet of some species. Their flight is fast and direct on their short wings.
The sunbirds have counterparts in two very distantly related groups: the hummingbirds of the Americas and the honeyeaters of Australia. The resemblances are due to convergent evolution brought about by a similar nectar-feeding lifestyle.[1] Some sunbird species can take nectar by hovering like a hummingbird, but they usually perch to feed.
Lovely Sunbird (Aethopyga shelleyi) ©WikiC
The spiderhunters, of the genus Arachnothera, are distinct in appearance from the other members of the family. They are typically larger than the other sunbirds, with drab brown plumage that is the same for both sexes, and long, down-curved beaks. (Wikipedia – Sunbird with editing)
I am going to risk having the video for you to hear this beautiful music, fearing you will watch her more than the birds. :) This is so beautiful and amazing by such a young harpist.
He does great things past finding out, Yes, wonders without number.
(Job 9:10 NKJV)Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! (Romans 11:33 NKJV)
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“The Fountain” Harp — 9-year-old Alisa Sadikova is an incredibly talented harpist. But hearing her play ‘The Fountain’ is enough to transport you to Heaven! Her gift is truly from the Lord and playing this she sounds like an angel! (from GodVine.com)
After the recent post – Birds of the Bible – Who Colored These Originally? who needs to improve on the beauty and magnificant colors of this Sunbird family.
Sunbird – Wikipedia
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Crimson Sunbird (Aethopyga siparaja) by Peter Ericsson
For the LORD God is a sun and shield; The LORD will give grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold From those who walk uprightly. (Psalms 84:11 NKJV)
From the rising of the sun to its going down The LORD’s name is to be praised. (Psalms 113:3 NKJV)
Sunbirds are another of the beautifully created birds from the Lord’s Hand. They are members of the Nectariniidae – Sunbirds family. This family has 143 members including the Sunbirds and Spiderhunters.
These are very small passerine birds. Most sunbirds feed largely on nectar, but also take insects and spiders, especially when feeding young. Flower tubes that bar access to nectar because of their shape, are simply punctured at the base near the nectaries. Fruit is also part of the diet of some species. Their flight is fast and direct on their short wings.
The family is distributed throughout Africa, the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia and just reaches northern Australia.
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“Temporary Home” – Flute played by Courtney Love (artist Carrie Underwood)
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If you would like to see the words to this song:
Little boy, six years old
A little too used to being alone
Another new mom and dad
Another school, another house that’ll never be a home
When people ask him how he likes this place
He looks up and says with a smile upon his face
“This is my temporary home, it’s not where I belong
Windows and rooms that I’m passing through
This is just a stop on the way to where I’m going
I’m not afraid because I know this is my temporary home”
Hmmmm………
Young mom on her own
She needs a little help, got nowhere to go
She’s looking for a job, looking for a way out
‘Cause a halfway house will never be a home
At night she whispers to her baby girl
“Someday we’ll find our place here in this world”
“This is our temporary home, it’s not where we belong
Windows and rooms that we’re passing through
This is just a stop on the way to where we’re going
I’m not afraid because I know this is our temporary home”
Hmmmm………
Old man, hospital bed
The room is filled with people he loves
And he whispers “Don’t cry for me, I’ll see you all someday”
He looks up and says “I can see God’s face”
“This is my temporary home, it’s not where I belong
Windows and rooms that I’m passing through
This was just a stop on the way to where I’m going
I’m not afraid because I know this was my temporary home”
This is our temporary home
This is our temporary home.
(Published – FAIR USE)
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. (1 Peter 1:3-5 NKJV)
More
Nectariniidae – Sunbirds Family
Sunbird – Wikipedia
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Ian’s Bird of the Week – Olive-backed/Yellow-bellied Sunbird ~ by Ian Montgomery
Newletter: 02-17-11
Well, my apologies for a very belated bird of the week. Life in and around Townsville has largely returned to normal post-Yasi, except for for my broadband connection so I’ve borrowed a mobile modem from my neighbour.
Olive-backed Sunbird (Cinnyris jugularis) by Ian
This week’s choice is the award for small bird cyclone survivor, jointly shared by around here by Red-backed Fairywren, Dusky Honeyeater and Olive-backed or Yellow-bellied Sunbird. The fairywren has been bird of the week before (July 2005), so I was going to choose the Dusky Honeyeater until I discovered that I have no record of the Sunbird being bird of the week before. That’s a potentially serious omission, so please forgive me if I’m mistaken: just nod sagely and put it down to old age and post-cyclone shock.
I suppose one shouldn’t be surprised at the Sunbird surviving cyclones as its range in Australia is restricted almost entirely to coastal tropical Queensland, extending just south of the Tropic of Capricorn to around Bundaberg. It also occurs in Torres Strait, New Guinea and southeast Asia but is regarded here as an iconic species and is immensely popular being very common around gardens, tame and often building its elegant hanging nest on verandahs. They feed mainly on the nectar of blossoms but will also take spiders.
The first two photos show the blue-chested male and yellow-breasted female respectively on Calliandra (Powder Puff) and were taken at the house that I rented when I first moved to Townsville. The third photo shows one of the local males perched in a Poinsiana tree near my current house.
Olive-backed Sunbird (Cinnyris jugularis) by Ian
This species is the only Sunbird found in Australia but it belongs to a large family with more than 100 species of Sunbird in Asia and Africa and leading a lifestyle similar to that of the exclusively American and unrelated Hummingbirds. The Sunbirds are closely related to the Flowerpeckers – which include the Mistletoebird – and there is disagreement as to whether they constitute one or two families.
Other cyclone related news is that the Peaceful Dove that I rescued had an injured rather than broken wing, has recovered well in the company of the budgies next door and is ready to be returned to the wild. Food is now the main issue for survivors and many of you have naturally expressed concern for the Southern Cassowaries, just recovering from cyclone Larry. You can find out what the Queensland Government is doing . Sue and Phil Gregory tell me that the Cassowaries at Cassowary House in Kuranda near Cairns have survived well, so keep that in mind if you are visiting North Queensland and want somewhere lovely to stay: http://www.cassowary-house.com.au/ .
Like cyclone Larry, Bluewater has been visited by some unusual avian visitors post-Yasi. I’ll say more about them in the next email and some photos of a special one for bird of the week #400 which will go out shortly as a catch-up.
Best wishes and thank you again for your kindness and support.
Ian
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Ian Montgomery, Birdway Pty Ltd,
454 Forestry Road, Bluewater, Qld 4818
Phone: +61-7 4751 3115
Preferred Email: ian@birdway.com.au
Website: http://birdway.com.au
Lee’s Addition:
What a neat looking bird and your photography skills show through as usual, Ian. Not sure about the readers, but I enjoy seeing each of your Bird of the Week offerings.
The Sunbirds reside in the Nectariniidae Family of the Passeriformes Order. There are 136 of these beautiful Sunbirds which also include Double-collared Sunbirds and Spiderhunters.
Then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, “Come and gather together for the supper of the great God, (Revelation 19:17 NKJV)
“The sunbirds and spiderhunters are a family, Nectariniidae, of very small passerine birds. The family is distributed throughout Africa, southern Asia and just reaches northern Australia. Most sunbirds feed largely on nectar, although they will also take insects, especially when feeding young. Fruit is also part of the diet of some species. Their flight is fast and direct on their short wings.
The sunbirds have counterparts in two very distantly related groups: the hummingbirds of the Americas and the honeyeaters of Australia. The resemblances are due to the similar nectar-feeding lifestyle. Some sunbird species can take nectar by hovering like a hummingbird, but usually perch to feed.
The family ranges in size from the 5-gram Black-bellied Sunbird to the Spectacled Spiderhunter, at about 45 grams. Like the hummingbirds, sunbirds are strongly sexually dimorphic, with the males usually brilliantly plumaged in metallic colours. In addition to this the tails of many species are longer in the males, and overall the males are larger. Sunbirds have long thin down-curved bills and brush-tipped tubular tongues, both adaptations to their nectar feeding. The spiderhunters, of the genus Arachnothera, are distinct in appearance from the other members of the family. They are typically larger than the other sunbirds, with drab brown plumage that is the same for both sexes and long down-curved beaks.
Species of sunbirds that live in high altitudes will enter torpor while roosting at night, lowering their body temperature and entering a state of low activity and responsiveness.” (Wikipedia)
For the LORD God is a sun and shield; The LORD will give grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold From those who walk uprightly. (Psalms 84:11 NKJV)
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Lee's Birdwatching Adventures Plus 