Sugarbird

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Sugarbird
Cape Sugarbird (Promerops cafer).jpg
Male Cape sugarbird (Promerops cafer)
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Promeropidae
Vigors, 1825
Genus: Promerops
Brisson, 1760
Type species
Merops cafer
Linnaeus, 1758
Species

See text.

The sugarbirds are a small genus, Promerops, and family, Promeropidae, of passerine birds, restricted to southern Africa. In general appearance and habits, they resemble large, long-tailed sunbirds or some of the Australian honeyeaters, but are not closely related to the former and are even more distantly related to the latter. They have brownish plumage, the long downcurved bill typical of passerine nectar feeders, and long tail feathers.

Contents

Taxonomy and systematics

The genus Promerops was introduced by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760 with the Cape sugarbird (Promerops cafer) as the type species. [1] [2] The name of the genus combines the Ancient Greek προ pro "close to" or "similar" and the genus Merops that contains the bee-eaters. [3]

The relationships of the sugarbirds have been a source of considerable debate. They were first treated as a far-flung member of the honeyeater family, which is otherwise restricted to the Australasian region. Using egg white proteins in the 1970s, Sibley and Ahlquist mistakenly placed them with the starlings (the samples used were actually those of sunbirds). They have also been linked to the thrushes (Turdidae) and the sunbirds. Molecular studies find support for few close relatives, and they are treated as a monotypic family at present, [4] although they form a clade with the Modulatricidae, three enigmatic African species formerly placed with the Old World babblers and thrushes. [5] [6]

Genetic diversity

Both species have been shown to exhibit exceptionally high genetic diversity at both microsatellite and mitochondrial loci, with no signs of inbreeding and large effective population sizes. [7]

Species

The genus contains two species: [8]

ImageScientific nameCommon NameDistribution
Gurney's Sugarbird, Promerops gurneyi at Marakele National Park (14142942643).jpg Promerops gurneyi Gurney's sugarbird Lesotho, Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland, and Zimbabwe
Cape Sugarbird (Promerops cafer) 2.jpg Promerops cafer Cape sugarbird Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa.

Description

Female cape sugarbird, note the protruding tongue SugarBird.jpg
Female cape sugarbird, note the protruding tongue

The two sugarbird species are medium-sized passerines that weigh between 26 and 46 g (0.92 and 1.62 oz) and are 23 to 44 cm (9.1–17.3 in) in length. Between 15 and 38 cm (5.9 and 15.0 in) of that length is in their massively elongated tails, the tails of the Cape sugarbird being overall longer than those of Gurney's sugarbird. In both species, the tail of the male is longer than the female, although the difference is more pronounced in the Cape sugarbird. In overall body size, the males are slightly larger and heavier than the females. Both species have long and slender bills that are slightly curved, and again the females have a slightly shorter bill, leading to differences in feeding niches. The skull and tongue morphologies of the sugarbirds are very similar to that of the honeyeaters, the result of convergent evolution. The tongue is long and protrusible, and is tubular and frilled at the end. [4]

Distribution and habitat

Gurney's sugarbird is found from Zimbabwe southwards, except the extreme south of South Africa, where it is replaced by the Cape sugarbird in the Cape provinces of South Africa. It has at times been considered conspecific with Gurney's. The distribution of Gurney's sugarbird is disjunct, and currently two subspecies are accepted, one in the north and one further south.

Sugarbirds are dependent on Protea and are found in protea scrub. The Cape sugarbird is found in fynbos and has also moved into gardens and nurseries.

Behaviour and ecology

Gurney's sugarbird Gurney's Sugarbird (Promerops gurneyi).jpg
Gurney's sugarbird

Nectar from the inflorescences of the Protea provide most of the energy these birds require, and they are considered significant pollinators of the genus. The birds' diet is supplemented by insects attracted to the inflorescences. [9] Studies of their diets found that bees in the family Apidae and flies formed a large part of the diet and that the insects were obtained by hawking.

The breeding behaviour and nesting habits of the two species of sugarbird are very similar. [4] Sugarbirds are monogamous, and male sugarbirds defend territories during the breeding season. [10] Females lay two eggs in a nest in a fork of a tree.

Related Research Articles

<i>Protea cynaroides</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae

Protea cynaroides, also called the king protea, is a flowering plant. It is a distinctive member of Protea, having the largest flower head in the genus. The species is also known as giant protea, honeypot or king sugar bush. It is widely distributed in the southwestern and southern parts of South Africa in the fynbos region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penduline tit</span> Family of birds

The penduline tits constitute the family, Remizidae, of small passerine birds, related to the true tits. All but the verdin make elaborate bag nests hanging from trees, usually over water.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sunbird</span> Family of birds

Sunbirds and spiderhunters make up the family Nectariniidae of passerine birds. They are small, slender passerines from the Old World, usually with downward-curved bills. Many are brightly coloured, often with iridescent feathers, particularly in the males. Many species also have especially long tail feathers. Their range extends through most of Africa to the Middle East, South Asia, South-east Asia and southern China, to Indonesia, New Guinea and northern Australia. Species diversity is highest in equatorial regions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beautiful sunbird</span> Species of bird

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Garden sunbird</span> Species of bird

The garden sunbird, previously known as the olive-backed sunbird, is a species of passerine bird in the family Nectariniidae that is found in the Philippines except on the Palawan island group. It was formerly considered to be conspecific with seven other species: the ornate sunbird, Palawan sunbird, Sahul sunbird, Tukangbesi sunbird, Flores Sea sunbird, South Moluccan sunbird and the Mamberamo sunbird. It is a small, brightly coloured bird with olive-green plumage on the wings and back with a bright yellow chest. It has a long downward-curved bill it uses for taking nectar and capturing insects. It is primarily nectarivorous, but will take insects and spiders, particularly when feeding chicks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red-vented bulbul</span> Species of bird

The red-vented bulbul is a member of the bulbul family of passerines. It is a resident breeder across the Indian subcontinent, including Sri Lanka extending east to Burma and parts of Bhutan and Nepal. It has been introduced in many other parts of the world and has established itself in New Zealand, Argentina, Tonga and Fiji, as well as parts of Samoa, Australia, USA and Cook Islands. It is included in the list of the world's 100 worst invasive alien species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cape longclaw</span> Species of bird

The Cape longclaw or orange-throated longclaw is a passerine bird in the family Motacillidae, which comprises the longclaws, pipits and wagtails. It occurs in Southern Africa in Zimbabwe and southern and eastern South Africa. This species is found in coastal and mountain grassland, often near water.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cape sugarbird</span> Species of bird

The Cape sugarbird is one of the eight bird species endemic to the Fynbos biome of the Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shaft-tailed whydah</span> Species of bird

The shaft-tailed whydah or queen whydah is a small, sparrow-like bird in the genus Vidua. During the breeding season the male has black crown and upper body plumage, golden breast and four elongated black tail shaft feathers with expanded tips. After the breeding season is over, the male sheds its long tail and grows olive brown female-like plumage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orange-breasted sunbird</span> Species of bird

The orange-breasted sunbird is a species of small, predominantly nectar-feeding bird that is endemic to the fynbos shrubland biome of southwestern South Africa. It is the only member of the genus Anthobaphes, in the family Nectariniidae, though it is sometimes placed in the genus Nectarinia. The birds are sexually dimorphic, with females being olive green while the males are orange to yellow on the underside with bright green, blue and purple on the head and neck.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cape weaver</span> Species of bird

The Cape weaver is a species of bird in the weaver family, Ploceidae, found in southern Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malachite sunbird</span> Species of bird

The malachite sunbird is a small nectarivorous bird found from the highlands of Ethiopia southwards to South Africa. They pollinate many flowering plants, particularly those with long corolla tubes, in the Fynbos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yellow bishop</span> Species of bird

The yellow bishop, also known as Cape bishop, Cape widow or yellow-rumped widow, is a resident breeding bird species in Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

<i>Protea neriifolia</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae

Protea neriifolia, also known as the narrow-leaf sugarbush, oleander-leaved sugarbush, blue sugarbush, or the oleanderleaf protea, is a flowering plant in the genus Protea, which is endemic to South Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palestine sunbird</span> Species of passerine bird

The Palestine sunbird is a small passerine bird of the sunbird family, Nectariniidae. Found in parts of the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa, it is also known as the orange-tufted sunbird, a name also used for the similar Cinnyris bouvieri, found further south in Africa. In 2015, the Palestinian Authority adopted the species as a national bird, after losing in Israel's national bird public vote in 2008. The specific name osea is derived from Ancient Greek ὁσια.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gurney's sugarbird</span> Species of bird

Gurney's sugarbird is a medium-sized passerine endemic to the mid- and high-altitude grassland velds in southern Africa. It belongs to the family Promeropidae, which contains one genus, Promerops, and two species. Gurney's sugarbird feeds on nectar from Protea bushes as well as on small insects. This bird is characterized by its long, graduated tail and decurved beak.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mkhambathi Nature Reserve</span> Coastal nature reserve at Lusikisiki in the Eastern Cape, South Africa

Mkhambathi Nature Reserve is a protected area at Lusikisiki in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. It is 7,720 hectares, with the Pondoland Marine Protected Area off its coastal edge. The reserve is located in the Pondoland Centre of Plant Endemism and the greater Maputaland–Pondoland–Albany Hotspot, and is covered in open grassland, dotted with patches of indigenous forest, swamp forests and flanked by the forested ravines of the Msikaba and Mtentu rivers.

References

  1. Brisson, Mathurin Jacques (1760). Ornithologie, ou, Méthode Contenant la Division des Oiseaux en Ordres, Sections, Genres, Especes & leurs Variétés (in French and Latin). Paris: Jean-Baptiste Bauche. Vol. 1, p. 34, Vol. 2, p. 460.
  2. Paynter, Raymond A. Jr, ed. (1986). Check-list of Birds of the World. Vol. 12. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 449.
  3. Jobling, J.A. (2019). 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 3 April 2019.
  4. 1 2 3 de Swardt, Dawid (2008), "Family Promeropidae (Sugarbirds)", in Josep, del Hoyo; Andrew, Elliott; David, Christie (eds.), Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 13, Penduline-tits to Shrikes, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 486–497, ISBN   978-84-96553-45-3
  5. Beresford, P.; Barker, F.K.; Ryan, P.G.; Crowe, T.M. (May 2005). "African endemics span the tree of songbirds (Passeri): molecular systematics of several evolutionary 'enigmas'". Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 272 (1565): 849–858. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2004.2997 . PMC   1599865 . PMID   15888418.
  6. Oliveros, C.H.; et al. (2019). "Earth history and the passerine superradiation". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 116 (16): 7916–7925. Bibcode:2019PNAS..116.7916O. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1813206116 . PMC   6475423 . PMID   30936315.
  7. Haworth, Evan S.; Cunningham, Michael J.; Calf Tjorve, Kathleen M. (2018-06-13). "Population diversity and relatedness in Sugarbirds (Promeropidae: Promerops spp.)". PeerJ. 6: e5000. doi: 10.7717/peerj.5000 . hdl: 2263/66416 . PMID   29915704.
  8. Gill, Frank; Donsker, David, eds. (2019). "Dapple-throats, sugarbirds, fairy-bluebirds, kinglets, hyliotas, wrens, gnatcatchers". World Bird List Version 9.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  9. Tjørve, K; Geertsema, G.; Underhill, L. (2005). "Do sugarbirds feed on arthropods inside or outside Protea inflorescences?". Emu. 105 (4): 293–297. doi:10.1071/MU04042.
  10. Calf, K; Downs, C; Cherry, M. (2003). "Territoriality and breeding success in the Cape sugarbird (Promerops cafer)". Emu . 103 (1): 29–35. doi:10.1071/MU01071.