Cape Sugarbird Promerops cafer
Kirstenbosch Botanic Gardens, Cape Town

07 September 2006

Sugarbirds Promeropidae are endemic to southern Africa, and are represented by just two species, the Cape Sugarbird Promerops cafer and Gurney’s Sugarbird P. gurneyi. Both are found almost exclusively in South Africa, with a small, isolated population of Gurney’s Sugarbird in the eastern highlands of neighbouring Zimbabwe. The stunning Kirstenbosch Botanic Gardens is one of the best places in the Cape (and therefore anywhere in the world) to see the beautiful Cape Sugarbird.

Endemic to the fynbos (macchia) biome of the Western and Eastern Cape provinces, Cape Sugarbirds are essentially nectar feeders, having long, brush-tipped tongues, though insects do also make up an important component of their diet. They feed at various species of Protea, at various Aloe species, as well as at red-hot pokers Kniphofia, Cape honeysuckle Tecomaria capensis and the Australian bottle-brush - all of which (as far as I can tell) are found in Kirstenbosch.

Cape Sugarbirds Promerops cafer

 

 

Gurney’s Sugarbird Promerops gurneyi, Mpumalanga, July 2005

For a report on a visit I made to Kirstenbosch go to Kirstenbosch and for the official Gardens website go to www.sanbi.org

All photographs copyright Charlie Moores.