Chalcomitra

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Chalcomitra
Scarlet-chested sunbird, Chalcomitra senegalensis, at Kruger National Park, South Africa, crop.jpg
An adult male Scarlet-chested sunbird (C. senegalensis) in South Africa
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Nectariniidae
Genus: Chalcomitra
Reichenbach, 1853
Type species
Certhia amethystina [1]
Shaw, 1812
Species

See text

Chalcomitra is a genus of African sunbirds. Its members are sometimes included in Nectarinia .

The sunbirds are a group of very small Old World passerine birds which feed largely on nectar, although they will also take insects, especially when feeding young. Flight is fast and direct on their short wings. Most species can take nectar by hovering like a hummingbird, but usually perch to feed most of the time.

The genus Chalcomitra was introduced by the German naturalist Ludwig Reichenbach in 1853. [2] The type species was subsequently designated as the amethyst sunbird. [3] The name Chalcomitra is from the Ancient Greek khalkomitros "wearing a bronze head-band", from khalkos "bronze" and mitra "diadem". [4]

Species

Its members are: [5]

MaleFemaleCommon NameScientific nameDistribution
Buff-throated Sunbird - near Kakum NP - Ghana 14 S4E1680 (16016140920) (cropped2).jpg Buff-throated sunbird Chalcomitra adelbertiBenin, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Togo.
Chalcomitra fuliginosa 350889.jpg Carmelite sunbird Chalcomitra fuliginosaLiberia, Angola
Chalcomitra rubescens 5678288, crop.jpg Green-throated sunbird Chalcomitra rubescensAngola, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia.
Amethyst sunbird, Chalcomitra amethystina, male at Loodswaai, Gauteng, South Africa. - 50613935926, crop.jpg Amethyst sunbird, Chalcomitra amethystina, at Pilanesberg National Park, Northwest Province, South Africa (female) (17019732982), crop1.jpg Amethyst sunbird Chalcomitra amethystinaAngola, Botswana, Burundi, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Scarlet-chested sunbird, Chalcomitra senegalensis, at Lake Chivero, Harare, Zimbabwe - male (21681953409).jpg Scarlet-chested sunbird, Chalcomitra senegalensis, at Kruger National Park, South Africa. - 49385589796, crop.jpg Scarlet-chested sunbird Chalcomitra senegalensisAngola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Hunters Sunbird RWD3d, crop.jpg Hunter's sunbird Chalcomitra hunteriEthiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda.
Chalcomitra balfouri Proceedingsofgen81zool 0245a (cropped).jpg Socotra sunbird Chalcomitra balfouriSocotra.

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References

  1. "Nectariniidae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
  2. Reichenbach, Ludwig (1853). Handbuch der Speciellen Ornithologie (in German). Vol. 6. Dresden and Leipzig: Expedition der Vollständigsten Naturgeschichte. p. 277.
  3. Dickinson, E.C.; Christidis, L., eds. (2014). The Howard & Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World. Vol. 2: Passerines (4th ed.). Eastbourne, UK: Aves Press. p. 270. ISBN   978-0-9568611-2-2.
  4. Jobling, J.A. (2018). del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Sargatal, J.; Christie, D.A.; de Juana, E. (eds.). "Key to Scientific Names in Ornithology". Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions. Retrieved 10 May 2018.
  5. Gill, Frank; Donsker, David, eds. (2018). "Dippers, leafbirds, flowerpeckers, sunbirds". World Bird List Version 8.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 10 May 2018.