Malachite Sunbird in Breeding Plumage Caption: Malachite Sunbird (Nectarinia famosa) in splendid iridiscent green plumage poses on a wild pomegranate (Burchellia bubalina), Curry’s Post, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

Camera: Canon EOS 50D; Canon EF 400mm f/5.6 L USM; Focal Length: 400mm; Shutter speed: 1/500; Aperture: f/5.6; ISO: 400.

In August this year I posted a couple of photos of a malachite sunbird in non-breeding or “eclipse” plumage, that in-between stage found in birds that do exhibit a distinct breeding plumage — see Malachite Sunbird on Aloe.

Since then I haven’t seen much of these birds, but today — while trying to photograph some other birds in the garden — I was rewarded when a malachite in its full breeding plumage posed briefly for me.

As can be seen, the sunbird is now entirely iridiscent green except for the blue-black wings and tail.

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+Scotch Macaskill

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