Scarlet-chested Sunbird

The Scarlet-chested Sunbird is a large sunbird with distinct sexual dimorphism. The nuptial male has very dark brown plumage, appearing black from a distance. It has bright red chest plumage which is an important visual specific signal. Close up, small blue spots are visible on the red background. The head features blue or green metallic looking areas in good lighting: the forehead and the crown often blue-turquoise, green moustache below the eyes, and chin and throat also green. The lesser and greater coverts, remiges and rectrices are lighter brown than the body; they become reddish-brown with wear. The black, slightly larger than head and quite strong bill is distinctly hooked. The eyes and feet are black. The female is paler than the male. The upperparts are brown with sometimes an olive tint. The wing and tail feathers are edged with white or pale beige. The entire underparts are heavily flecked or streaked with brown on a whitish background, sometimes with a hint of yellow. The dark throat is bordered by two whitish malar lines widening on the sides of the neck. A faint eyebrow streak, of the same color, is visible behind the eye. The juvenile resembles the female. It is distinguished by its yellow chin. The male acquires nuptial plumage at two years old. Initially identical to the female, the immature male progressively acquires the color attributes of the adult (red chest, bright head feathers), but the belly remains of female type. It already has a red chest and the head feathers are already metallic like those of the adult male. Subspecific variations: C. s. acik has lighter and duller red chest. The metallic blue crown is also less intense and the moustaches are smaller.C. s. lamperti looks similar to C. s. acik, with a longer beak (28 to 31 mm). C. s. acik's beak is between 22 and 26 mm. In the female, the underparts are generally paler and less marked.
The male C. s. proteus has a small purple patch on its lower coverts. The chin is black. The green moustache is paler than in the previous two ssp but still stands out. In the female, the primaries and alula have no white edging. The belly is pale yellow.
For C. s. gutturalis, the male distinguishes itself from other ssp by the purple patch on the coverts. The female possesses yellow underparts.