50. Bronze Sunbird Africama has many sunbirds: there are eight different types on this list, all with that sharp curved beak for drawing nectar up from deep inside flowers. Though not all sunbirds are iridescent, they are specialists in that: practically all of them – at least the males – make brilliant use of the sun, flashing a variety of different colours depending on the angle the light strikes the translucent feathers. It is a good example of beauty truly being in the eye of the beholder; turn your head and it looks different. The largest sunbird on our list is this one. Most of it is tail, of course. It likes sitting prominently, singing its heart out, for sunbirds can be amazingly noisy for such small creatures. Seen against the sky, this bird just looks black, and that is the colour of the wings, belly and tail. But it has a wonderful coat (or mantle, really) of many colours. In the right light, you can see brown with a net of gold thrown over it, turning on the shoulders into purple, and into goldish green on the back. Oh all right – you try to describe it, then, without using the word ‘bronze’! Birds of AFRICAMA House 104 Birds of AFRICAMA House 105