Appearance
The male golden-winged sunbird is about 9 in long and the female is about 6 in long, the male having long central tail feathers. Yellow-edged feathers in the wings and tail are key identification pointers in all plumages of both the male and female. Body feathers of the male in breeding condition are a conspicuous metallic reddish-copper colour, which are mostly replaced by dull-black feathers in the non-breeding condition. The underparts of the male are brownish-black. The female is olive above and yellowish below. Immature are similar to females, except their underparts are darker.Distribution
The golden-winged sunbird is found in Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, between altitudes of 1170 and 2300 m.Status
The golden-winged sunbird has a large range and its total population has not been estimated; however, it is not thought to be endangered and it is evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.Habitat
It is found in forest verges and clearings, in cultivated areas, bamboo forest and tall grassland. The species is locally nomadic, following food supply.Food
Golden-winged sunbirds consume the nectar from flowers of the mint "Leonotis nepetifolia" flowers as their main food source, but they also feed infrequently on other flower species: "Aloe graminicola" and "Leonotis mollissima" during the breeding season, and also "Crotalaria" species including "C. agatiflora", "Erythrina abyssinica", "Fuchsia" species, "Ipomoea batatas", "Jacaranda mimosifolia", "Phragmanthera dschallensis" and other pea species. The golden-winged sunbird also eats insects such as beetles, flies, ants, bees and wasps and various larvae.Territorial birds, golden-winged sunbirds defend patches of "Leonotis nepetifolia" flowers outside the breeding season in Kenya. This species flowers in July when little else is in flower. The concept of economic defendability, in which the defence of a resource has costs and benefits, explains the territorial behavior that golden-winged sunbirds exhibit.
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