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1. 

   Sunbirds hover at flowers of Salvia and Lycium

   Item type: Journal Article • Journal: Ostrich: Journal of African Ornithology • Authors: Petra Wester --- Department of Botany and Zoology, South Africa

   Sunbirds usually perch when visiting flowers for nectar and only rarely hover. Except for three studies of sunbirds visiting introduced plants in South Africa and India as well as a native plant in Cameroon, there have been no quantitative studies...

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2. 

   Vocal mimicry by sunbirds and the first record of mimicry by Dusky Sunbird Cinnyris fuscus

   Item type: Journal Article • Journal: Ostrich: Journal of African Ornithology • Authors: Michael SL Mills --- AP Leventis Ornithological Research Institute, Nigeria

   Vocal mimicry is rarely observed among members of the Nectariniidae (sunbirds), with the only African species known to do so regularly being Socotra Sunbird Chalcomitra balfouri. Here I document and describe for the first time vocal mimicry by Dusky Sunbird...

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3. 

   Interference competition between sunbirds and carpenter bees for the nectar of Hypoestes aristata

   Item type: Journal Article • Journal: African Zoology • Authors: Robert Tropek --- Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences, Czech Republic Michael Bartoš --- University of South Bohemia, Czech Republic Eliška Padyšáková --- University of South Bohemia, Czech Republic Štěpán Janeček --- Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Czech Republic

   Interference competition for nectar sources has been repeatedly described between hummingbirds and various insects, but rarely recorded in other nectari-vorous birds. We observed aggressive behaviour by African sunbirds (Cinnyris reichenowi and Cinnyris bouvieri) defending the nectar plant Hypoestes aristata against...

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4. 

   Using generalised additive models to visualise the annual cycle of primary feather moult patterns

   Item type: Journal Article • Journal: Ostrich: Journal of African Ornithology • Authors: Rebecca R Irons --- University of Cape Town, South Africa Alan TK Lee --- University of Cape Town, South Africa Robert L Thomson --- University of Cape Town, South Africa Birgit Erni --- University of Cape Town, South Africa

   Moult is a vital but energy-demanding event in a bird's phenological cycle. Primary moult is the shedding of old feathers and the regeneration of new flight feathers to maintain efficient functioning of these critical structures. Life history events, such as...

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