The Cape Sugarbird, Promerops cafer is one of the six bird species endemic to the Fynbos biome of the western and eastern Cape Province, South Africa.
Itis a grey-brown bird that easily recognizable by a spot of yellowunderits tail and the very long tail feathers present in males. Themale is34-44 cm long, and the shorter-tailed, shorter-billed, andpalerbreasted female 25-29 cm long. Another characteristic of theCapeSugarbird is the sound it makes when it flies. The main flightfeathersare arranged in such a way that when the bird beats its wings,a frrt-frrt sound is made with the intention of attracting females.
Thisbird is a specialist nectar feeder when it comes to feeding offProteaceae. Its long, sharp beak is used to reach the nectar of avariety of species of protea with its long brush-tipped tongue. Thestaple diet of this sugarbird is nectar, however it will also eatspiders and insects. The characteristic strong winds in the Cape maymake feeding off protea heads difficult, but the Cape Sugarbird hasadapted to this with the development of sharp claws.
The CapeSugarbird is distributed throughout the Cape Floral Regionwhere thereare flowering proteas and ericas. It is also found ingardens in summerwhen most proteas are not in flower. The breedingseason for the CapeSugarbird is winter when there are ample foodsupplies.
A commonspecies throughout its range, the Cape Sugarbird is evaluated as LeastConcern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.