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

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]

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

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

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 Democratic Republic of the Congo
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 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

  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. 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.

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