Prigogine's Sunbird

Description 

Also known as Prigogine’s Double-Collared Sunbird 

13 cm  

8-11 grams  

The males of the species have the following characteristics:   

Iridescent blue-green head and mantle with a golden reflection  

Blue rump  

Iridescent purple-blue uppertail-coverts  

Black uppertail with bluish tinge that is tipped white with narrow white edges on two outer feathers  

Black remiges and upperwing-coverts  

Purplish-blue iridescent narrow breastband that is bluer than uppertail-coverts with a dark, narrow red band (10 mm deep)  

Bright yellow pectoral tufts  

Yellow-olive belly  

Grey brown lower belly and undertail-coverts  

Dark brown undertail is edged whitish  

Dark brown iris  

Black legs and bill  

Non-breeding males are a non-metallic olive mixed with metallic green feathers on the crown, side of the head, and back. They also have brown primaries and wing-coverts and a greyish lower belly 

Females of the species have the following characteristics:  

Olive from the forehead to the rump  

Black uppertail with outer feathers edged white  

Dark brown/black remiges  

Olive-green on outer edges of primaries  

Yellow-green edges on secondaries  

Dark olive chin and throat with dusky markings  

Olive underparts  

Darker on upper breast  

Yellow-olive flanks and vent  

Black undertail that is broadly edged white  

Black bill with a pale base  

Black legs   

Habitat 

This species’ range is known only to encompass the Marungu Highlands in the southeast Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo)  

Habitats includes montane forests, thickets, and fields near rivers and streams in montane areas of at least 1900 m 

Vocal Behavior 

The song is a high-pitched warble 

Calls include cheeps and ticking notes  

Other Information 

Movement unknown  

Diet unknown but assumed to be nectar and insects 

Breeding behavior unknown (Birds of the World) 

Life span- 3.6 years (IUCN Red List) 

This species is listed as Near Threatened by the IUCN that made its last assessment in 2016. Prigogine’s Sunbird is seen to have a small range that is experiencing more and more fragmentation and decline due to habitat loss caused by agriculture and the erosion of stream banks by cattle. This species’ extent of occurrence is estimated to be 1100 km.² Even though the population has never been quantified, the bird is thought to be common throughout her range (IUCN Red List). 

To see a distribution map for Prigogine’s Sunbird, click here. 

All we know of this bird comes from specimens collected in the early 20th century. The last specimen was collected in the Marungu Highlands of the DR Congo in 1931. No one has seen Prigogine's Sunbird since that time (Macdonald, 1958).

The greatest challenge Prigogine's Sunbird must face is the high rate of habitat loss that is happening across her narrow range. This habitat loss is caused not only by agricultural expansion but also by the indirect and direct impacts continuous armed conflict has had on diverse ecosystems in the DR Congo. During a wartime situation, there are several ways an armed conflict can negatively affect wildlife. Animals can be accidentally killed by mines or shells. They can be hunted and overexploited to feed troops. If they are an endangered species, they can even be used by hostages or pawns to hamper government troops or gain international support. War can affect park institutions in a reserve where endangered and vulnerable species are protected. Rebels can occupy an area and chase park officials away. With park institutions absent, this not only opens the door for rebels and poachers but also refugees from neighboring regions affected by the conflict to come in and overexploit park resources and destroy natural environments (Gaynor et al., 2016). All of these factors either have happened or continue to happen on some level in the DR Congo ever since the country ceased to be a Belgian colony in the 1960s. The armed conflict that has ravaged the country does not show signs of ending anytime soon. While large mammals tend to be the center of attention for economic reasons such as poaching, birds can be the target of poaching and habitat loss as war forces many in the country to overexploit resources to survive. 

The DR Congo has among the richest and diverse ecosystems in the world. Ironically, these areas are also among the most poorly studied and ravaged by habitat loss as a result of the incessant warfare that has plagued the country since independence. Prigogine's Sunbird is one of 13 rare species that are either only known from the DR Congo or are mainly known from this region. Other than Prigogine's Sunbird, the list includes the Itombwe Nightjar, Itombwe Owl, Chestnut Owlet, Grauer’s Cuckooshrike, Lendu Crombec, Kabobo Apalis, Prigogine’s Greenbul, Sassi’s Greenbul, Chapin’s Mountain Babbler, Upemba Masked Weaver, Black-Lored Waxbill, and Yellow-Legged Weaver. It appears that more and more of their habitat is destroyed by agriculture and overexploitation and more and more of their members are captured or killed due to poaching and hunting with every passing year. If the armed conflict in the DR Congo does not cease, it is unsure how much longer these rare species can continue to cope with the direct and indirect impacts war has had on their survival.

Other than habitat loss in its narrow range, the main challenge this species faces is the uncertainty surrounding its taxonomic status. 

Due to the fact that all we know about Prigogine’s Sunbird comes from specimens collected in the early 20^th century (the last being collected in 1931) and that next to nothing is known about her behavior in the wild, where to place this bird taxonomically has been the center a fierce debate among taxonomists and ornithologists for almost 70 years. When Prigogine’s Sunbird was first described by J.D Macdonald in 1958, he did not describe the bird as a distinct species but as a subspecies of the Greater Double-Collared Sunbird (Cinnyris afer) (Macdonald, 1958). This was the trend among ornithologists in the early 20^th century who tended to lump all larger double-collared sunbirds in montane regions north of South Africa in the same species complex as the Greater Double-Collared Sunbird. This changed in the 1970s when ornithologists (such as P.A Clancey and M.P.S Irwin) removed Prigogine’s Sunbird from this complex. However, they were not convinced of this species’ distinct status either. While they did not see the species as conspecific with the Greater Double-Collared Sunbird, they saw it as conspecific with the Montane or Ludwig’s Double-Collared Sunbird (Cinnyris ludovicensis)(Clancey and Irwin, 1978). Others, such as R.A Cheke and C.F Mann, did not see things that way and were convinced that Prigogine’s Sunbird was a subspecies of the Rwenzori Double-Collared or Stuhlmann’s Sunbird (Cinnyris stuhlmanni) (Bowie et al., 2016). It is interesting that all of them were convinced that this bird was a subspecies of a more well-known species. Not all ornithologists were convinced and some checklists treat Prigogine’s Sunbird as a distinct species.  

It has been proposed by some that Prigogine’s Sunbird is closely related to the Northern Double-Collared Sunbird (Cinnyris reichenowi) and that the bird could potentially be a hybrid between the Rwenzori Double-Collared Sunbird and the Eastern Double-Collared Sunbird (Cinnyris mediocris) whose ranges overlap with that of Prigogine’s Sunbird in the Marungu Highlands of the DR Congo (Birds of the World). Until the bird is found again in the wild or a DNA analysis is done, ornithologists and taxonomists will continue to debate with each other about this bird’s identity and origins. 

Conduct a DNA analysis of one or more of the known specimens of Prigogine’s Sunbird to see if this is a distinct species and not conspecific with another species of African sunbird. 

In 2016, Rauri C.K Bowie and a team of researchers published a study that did a phylogenetic analysis of a newly discovered population of sunbirds in the Rubeho and Udzungwa Highlands in western Tanzania. They took DNA samples from most of the major sunbird species whose ranges overlapped in these areas within the Eastern Arc Mountains. They identified the new population as belonging to the species complex of Whyte’s Double-Collared Sunbird (Cinnyris whytei). They argued that not only is Whyte’s Double-Collared Sunbird a distinct species but that this population belongs to a subspecies of this complex. They described this new subspecies as Cinnyris whytei skye. Through this study, Bowie et al., proved that Whyte’s Double-Collared Sunbird should be treated as a distinct species and not as a subspecies of the Montane Double-Collared Sunbird as many ornithologists previously thought (Bowie et al., 2016).  

What is interesting is that they left out Prigogine’s Sunbird from the study. This is due to the fact that this bird’s range lies in the DR Congo and not in the Eastern Arc Mountains that span Kenya and Tanzania where the new population of sunbirds were found. A DNA analysis of this bird would have proved useful in determining her taxonomic status. Perhaps someday a DNA analysis will be done on one or more of the known specimens and we will know the truth about whether or not this bird is a distinct species or not. 

Order: Passeriformes 

Family: Nectariniidae 

Genus: Cinnyris 

Species: Cinnyris prigoginei* 

*There has been a debate surrounding this species’ taxonomic status. As a result, the bird has been given several designations over the years as prominent ornithologists in the field were convinced that this bird was a either a subspecies of the Greater Double-Collared Sunbird, the Montane Double-Collared Sunbird, or the Rwenzori Double-Collared Sunbird. Prigogine’s Sunbird has received the following designations over the years in addition to her current one: Nectarinia afer prigoginei, Nectarinia ludovicensis prigoginei, and Cinnyris stuhlmanni prigoginei.