Chalcomitra

Chalcomitra
An adult male Scarlet-chested sunbird (C. senegalensis) in South Africa
Scientific classification
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]

Male	Female	Common name	Scientific name	Distribution
		Buff-throated sunbird	Chalcomitra adelberti	Benin, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Togo.
		Carmelite sunbird	Chalcomitra fuliginosa	Liberia, Angola
		Green-throated sunbird	Chalcomitra rubescens	Angola, 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	Angola, 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	Angola, 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.
		Hunter's sunbird	Chalcomitra hunteri	Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda.
		Socotra sunbird	Chalcomitra balfouri	Socotra.

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.

• Barlow, Wacher and Disley, Birds of The Gambia ISBN   1-873403-32-1
• Sinclair, Ian; Hockey, Phil; Tarboton, Warwick (2002). SASOL Birds of Southern Africa. Struik. ISBN   1-86872-721-1.