Chalcomitra
| Chalcomitra | |
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| Chalcomitra senegalensis | |
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| Genus: | Chalcomitra L. Reichenbach, 1853
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| species | |
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C. adelberti | |
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.
Its members are:
- Buff-throated sunbird, Chalcomitra adelberti
- Carmelite sunbird, Chalcomitra fuliginosa
- Green-throated sunbird, Chalcomitra rubescens
- Amethyst sunbird, Chalcomitra amethystina
- Scarlet-chested sunbird, Chalcomitra senegalensis
- Hunter's sunbird, Chalcomitra hunteri
- Socotra sunbird, Chalcomitra balfouri
There is also an essentially unknown and undescribed population of such sunbirds around Wadi Tôha in Day Forest National Park, Djibouti, discovered in 1985. It is quite distinct and appears to represent a new species:
- Toha sunbird or Djibouti sunbird, Chalcomitra sp. indet.
References
- 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.
