Sunbirds (Family: Nectariniidae) are a group of birds that generally live in forested landscapes in the Old World tropics, primarily Africa and southeast Asia. Sunbirds are known to pollinate several flower species. For example, the orange-tufted sunbird ( Nectarinia osea osea ) is the exclusive winter pollinator of the burning bush ( Loranthus acaciae ). The queen's bird-of-paradise ( Strelitzia reginae ), found in the shrublands of southeastern Africa, is pollinated by a sunbird which lands on a large, showy specialized leaf called a spathe to drink nectar from the flower. Pollen is dusted onto the sunbird's breast and feet as the bird separates the sepals. The bird then inadvertently carries this pollen to the next flower it visits. The small sunbird ( Nectarinia minima ) pollinates trees and epiphytic plants including Palaquium ellipticum (a tropical tree), Elaeocarpus munronii (a flowering plant found in India), and members of the Loranthaceae (mistletoe) family. It is believed that some species of plants have co-evolved with sunbirds. The orange-breasted ( Anthobaphes violacea ) and lesser double collared ( Cinnyris chalybea ) sunbirds pollinate species of ericas (small shrubs) that have evolved to fit the shape of the birds' beaks. Also, members of the genus Mimetes have evolved flowerheads adapted to pollination by birds, specifically sunbirds and sugarbirds.

Sugarbirds are a small group of passerine birds that reside exclusively in Africa. They are specialist nectar feeders with a long down-curved bill and long tail feathers. The Cape sugarbird (Promerops cafer) pollinates the black protea ( Protea lepidocarpodendron ), an upright shrub. The black protea's 'flowers' are not single flowers at all, but a flowerhead made up of many individual flowers grouped together on a rounded base. To avoid self-pollination the surface on the stigma stays closed until the flowers' own pollen is removed by the sugarbird. The sugarbird perches on the flowerhead and pushes its head and beak through the styles, inadvertently transferring pollen to an area between the bird's eyes. At the next flower, the sugarbird deposits pollen from the previous flower.

References: Sunbirds: Nectariniidae (In: Robson, D., 2003, Bird Families of the World), Flowering seasonality and flower characteristics of Loranthus acaciae Zucc. (Loranthaceae): implications for advertisement and bird-pollination (Y. Vaknin, Y. Yom Tov, and D. Eisikowitch, Sex. Plant Reprod., 1996, 9:279-285, Copyright Springer-Verlag), Strelitzia reginae Aiton (Copyright 2001-2007 C. Vandaveer), Wildworld: Ecoregional profile (Copyright 2001 World Wildlife Fund), and Protea lepidocarpodendron  (A. Notten, Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, July 2006)