This photo was taken in Bonaire. You can see a sugar thief on the flowers of an aloe vera plant. The flowers of the aloe vera are a treat for various birds, including the sugar thief. The sugar thief (Coereba flaveola) or Chibichibi is a common bird on Bonaire. The sugar thief gets its name from its fondness for sweets. The bird is about 11 cm long and can be recognised by its yellow breast, black wings and white eyebrows. The birds are relatively tame and love fruit, jam, syrup or fruit juice lemonade. Sugar thieves can be found in large numbers near hotel restaurants to steal all kinds of sweets literally under the noses of tourists, hence the name "sugar thief". They also eat nectar from flowers and small insects. The sugar thief is a commonly known bird in South America. They generally live in lower elevations. The sugar thief generally breeds several times in the year, laying 1 to 3 eggs. The sound the birds make is somewhat similar to that of an insect. It sounds quite shrill.
Pieter Smit was born in Arnhem and has lived on Bonaire since 2010. In his spare time, he enjoys taking photos, mainly of the Caribbean island's colourful birds... Read more…