The sunbirds are golden birds from Shona myth.
Appearance
Little is known about these creatures' appearance, though they are said to resemble swallows with glistening feathers. They are as small, elusive, and swift as any swallow.
Behaviour
A pair of sunbirds were kept by Dzivaguru, the goddess who controlled the day and night cycles. Whenever the sunbirds were released, the sun would rise in the sky, and vice versa. When uncontrolled, they fly erratically, causing droughts. Dzivaguru vanished after Nosenga, sun of the sky god, released them into the world, leaving them to wreak havoc as punishment. They do not appear when it is raining.
Related stories
Dzivaguru lived in a lush and beautiful place, and was celebrated by her people for her kindness. However, Nosenga grew jealous of her prosperity and descended to earth to take her kingdom from her. Dzivaguru commanded the fog to obscure his vision and the light to avoid his path, so that he was unable to reach her palace and searched for another course of action.
He remembered Dzivaguru's sunbirds, and soon captured them in a magical trap. As the sun began to rise, Dzivaguru appeared to Nosenga and scolded him for taking her land, declaring that for every sin his suns committed, drought would strike. With that, she disappeared forever.