The Rufous-winged Sunbird is a small sunbird known only from Tanzania’s Udzungwa Mountains. It feeds at flowering plants from the understory to the canopy, and breeding is thought to occur during the November–February rainy season.
It is about 12 cm long.
It visits flowering plants from the forest understory to the canopy. In Iyondo Forest in September 2013, up to three males hopped between branches 3–5 m above the ground and sang at one another while a female visited.
In January–February 2012, pairs defended clumps of flowering plants against other Rufous-winged Sunbirds and other sunbird species.
During the January–February 2012 study, a pair and two juveniles were observed over two days in a forest glade at 1,700 m in Uzungwa Scarp forest.
In Mwanihana forest, birds have been recorded down to 600 m during the colder, drier months of July and August.
An adult male has an iridescent blue crown, face, nape and back. The bronze throat is separated from the red breast by a blue band.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.