Cinnyris is a genus of sunbirds. Its members are sometimes included in Nectarinia. They are generally known as double-collared sunbirds because the fringe of their bib usually includes a band of contrastingly coloured feathers.[2]

Cinnyris
Male Splendid sunbird, C. coccinigastrus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Nectariniidae
Genus: Cinnyris
Cuvier, 1816
Type species
Certhia spendida[1] = Certhia coccinigaster
Shaw, 1811
Species

See text

male Palestine sunbird (Cinnyris osea osea)
male Cinnyris sovimanga apolis

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.

Taxonomy

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The genus Cinnyris was introduced by the French naturalist Georges Cuvier in 1816.[3] The type species was designated as "Certhia splendida Shaw" by George Robert Gray in 1855.[4] This taxon is a junior synonym of Certhia coccinigaster described by John Latham in 1801. This is now the splendid sunbird.[5][6][7] The name Cinnyris is from the Ancient Greek κιννυρις (kinnyris), an unknown small bird mentioned by Hesychius of Alexandria.[8]

It is suspected that the genus is polyphyletic and the positions of many are unresolved:[9][10]

Species

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The genus contains 63 species:[6]

Image Common Name Scientific name Distribution
  Olive-bellied sunbird Cinnyris chloropygius African tropical rainforest
  Tiny sunbird Cinnyris minullus African tropical rainforest
  Eastern miombo sunbird Cinnyris manoensis central and eastern Africa
Western miombo sunbird Cinnyris gertrudis western Africa
  Southern double-collared sunbird Cinnyris chalybeus southern Africa
Neergaard's sunbird Cinnyris neergaardi Mozambique and South Africa
Rwenzori double-collared sunbird Cinnyris stuhlmanni south central Africa
Whyte’s double-collared sunbird Cinnyris whytei Zambia, Malawi, and Tanzania
Prigogine's double-collared sunbird Cinnyris prigoginei Democratic Republic of the Congo
  Ludwig's double-collared sunbird Cinnyris ludovicensis Angola, northern Malawi, and northeastern Zambia
  Northern double-collared sunbird Cinnyris reichenowi Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Sudan, and Uganda
  Greater double-collared sunbird Cinnyris afer southern South Africa
  Regal sunbird Cinnyris regius Uganda to Tanzania
Rockefeller's sunbird Cinnyris rockefelleri Albertine Rift montane forests
  Eastern double-collared sunbird Cinnyris mediocris Kenya and northern Tanzania
Usambara double-collared sunbird Cinnyris usambaricus Kenya and northeast Tanzania
Forest double-collared sunbird Cinnyris fuelleborni East Africa
Moreau's sunbird Cinnyris moreaui Tanzania
  Beautiful sunbird Cinnyris pulchellus Senegal and Guinea in the west to Sudan, South Sudan, Ethiopia and Kenya
Loveridge's sunbird Cinnyris loveridgei Tanzania
  Marico sunbird Cinnyris mariquensis Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe
Shelley's sunbird Cinnyris shelleyi Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe
Hofmann's sunbird Cinnyris hofmanni eastern Tanzania
Congo sunbird Cinnyris congensis Democratic Republic of the Congo
  Red-chested sunbird Cinnyris erythrocercus Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda
  Black-bellied sunbird Cinnyris nectarinioides Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, and Tanzania
  Purple-banded sunbird Cinnyris bifasciatus Angola, Botswana, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Eswatini, Gabon, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Somalia, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe
  Tsavo sunbird Cinnyris tsavoensis Kenya and Tanzania
Violet-breasted sunbird Cinnyris chalcomelas Kenya and Somalia
  Pemba sunbird Cinnyris pembae Pemba Island, in Tanzania
  Orange-tufted sunbird Cinnyris bouvieri Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda, and Zambia
  Palestine sunbird Cinnyris osea Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa
  Arabian sunbird Cinnyris hellmayri Oman, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen
Shining sunbird Cinnyris habessinicus Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, and Uganda
  Splendid sunbird Cinnyris coccinigastrus tropical Africa
  Johanna's sunbird Cinnyris johannae African tropical rainforest
  Superb sunbird Cinnyris superbus African tropical rainforest
Rufous-winged sunbird Cinnyris rufipennis Tanzania
Oustalet's sunbird Cinnyris oustaleti Angola, Malawi, Tanzania, and Zambia
  White-bellied sunbird Cinnyris talatala Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eswatini, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe
  Variable sunbird Cinnyris venustus Sub-Saharan Africa
  Dusky sunbird Cinnyris fuscus Angola, Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa
Ursula's sunbird Cinnyris ursulae Nigeria, Cameroon, and Equatorial Guinea
Bates's sunbird Cinnyris batesi Central Africa
  Copper sunbird Cinnyris cupreus Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique
  Purple sunbird Cinnyris asiaticus South and Southeast Asia
  Olive-backed sunbird or garden sunbird Cinnyris jugularis The Philippines
  Apricot-breasted sunbird Cinnyris buettikoferi Indonesia
Flame-breasted sunbird Cinnyris solaris Timor
  Souimanga sunbird Cinnyris sovimanga Madagascar, the Aldabra Group and the Glorioso Islands
  Seychelles sunbird Cinnyris dussumieri Seychelles
  Malagasy green sunbird Cinnyris notatus Comoros and Madagascar
  Humblot's sunbird Cinnyris humbloti Comoros
Anjouan sunbird Cinnyris comorensis Comoros
Mayotte sunbird Cinnyris coquerellii Comoros
  Loten's sunbird Cinnyris lotenius India and Sri Lanka
Tukangbesi sunbird Cinnyris infrenatus Wakatobi Islands, Indonesia
  Ornate sunbird Cinnyris ornatus Mainland Southeast Asia, Samatra, Java, Borneo and the Lesser Sunda Islands
  Sahul sunbird Cinnyris frenatus Sulawesi to the Solomon Islands and northeast Australia
Palawan sunbird Cinnyris aurora Palawan and Busuanga Islands, Philippines
South Moluccan sunbird Cinnyris clementiae Maluku Islands, Indonesia
Flores Sea sunbird Cinnyris teysmanni Flores Sea islands, south of Sulawesi
Mamberamo sunbird Cinnyris idenburgi north New Guinea

References

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  1. ^ "Nectariniidae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
  2. ^ Macdonald, J. D. (1959). "Old and New Lines in Taxonomy". Ibis. 101 (3–4): 330–334. doi:10.1111/j.1474-919x.1959.tb02389.x. ISSN 1474-919X.
  3. ^ Cuvier, Georges (1816). Le Règne animal distribué d'après son organisation : pour servir de base a l'histoire naturelle des animaux et d'introduction a l'anatomie comparée (in French). Vol. 1. Paris: Déterville. p. 411.
  4. ^ Gray, George Robert (1855). Catalogue of the Genera and Subgenera of Birds Contained in the British Museum. London: British Museum. p. 19.
  5. ^ Paynter, Raymond A. Jr, ed. (1986). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 12. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 223.
  6. ^ a b Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (December 2023). "Dippers, leafbirds, flowerpeckers, sunbirds". IOC World Bird List Version 14.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  7. ^ 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. 273. ISBN 978-0-9568611-2-2.
  8. ^ 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 8 May 2018.
  9. ^ Warren, Ben H; Bermingham, Eldredge; Bowie, Rauri CK; Prys-Jones, Robert P; Thébaud, Christophe (2003). "Molecular phylogeography reveals island colonization history and diversification of western Indian Ocean sunbirds (Nectarinia: Nectariniidae)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 29 (1): 67–85. Bibcode:2003MolPE..29...67W. doi:10.1016/s1055-7903(03)00063-0. PMID 12967608.
  10. ^ Bowie, Rauri C. K.; Fjeldså, Jon; Hackett, Shannon J.; Crowe, Timothy M.; Fleischer, R. C. (2004). "Systematics and biogeography of double-collared sunbirds from the eastern arc mountains, tanzania". The Auk. 121 (3): 660–681. doi:10.1642/0004-8038(2004)121[0660:sabods]2.0.co;2. S2CID 86592887.

Further reading

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