Most male Sunbirds have brilliant plumage and are easily identifiable while the females are drabber. The male Scarletchested Sunbird is sooty black with a brilliant, metallic green crown and throat and a scarlet lower throat and breast.

The Sunbirds' long decurved bills are ideal for probing flowers for nectar but they also eat spiders and insects to supplement their diet. When probing flowers they hover, perch or hang upside-down. Their flight is fast and dashing and they can be found in woodland, savanna, riverine bush or even, if you are lucky, in the gardens of MalaMala.