I saw one red-chested sunbird on the hill below Nkimo Forest Lodge and above the Mabamba Swamp, near Entebbe and above Lake Victoria, in Uganda. I was with a guide, Johnson, who was very good (both my birding guides in Uganda were tremendous).
The female is much less colorful than the male, and I only saw a male, so I'll focus on its identification. The male has upperparts, including the head, that are metallic green. It is blue-green from the nape to the rump and on the scapulars. It has a dark brown tail tinged with glossy blue and edged blue-green. It has a thin violet-blue band on the upper breast above a broader red band, and is otherwise black below.
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| I am intrigued by the yellow box on the breast shown in this photo. I don't see any mention of it, or see it in any of the photos. There is mention of a beautiful sunbird that has yellow on both sides of a red belly, but it otherwise looks much different. |
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| Illustration of the red-chested sunbird from Birds of the World. |
It is found in Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.
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| Range map from Birds of the World. |
