Chalcomitra

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. The type species was subsequently designated as the amethyst sunbird. The name Chalcomitra is from the Ancient Greek khalkomitros "wearing a bronze head-band", from khalkos "bronze" and mitra "diadem".

Species

Its members are:

Male	Female	Common Name	Scientific name	Distribution
File:Buff-throated Sunbird - near Kakum NP - Ghana 14 S4E1680 (16016140920) (cropped2).jpg		Buff-throated sunbird	Chalcomitra adelberti	Benin, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Togo.
File:Chalcomitra fuliginosa 350889.jpg		Carmelite sunbird	Chalcomitra fuliginosa	Liberia, Angola
File:Chalcomitra rubescens 5678288, crop.jpg		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.
File:Amethyst sunbird, Chalcomitra amethystina, male at Loodswaai, Gauteng, South Africa. - 50613935926, crop.jpg	File:Amethyst sunbird, Chalcomitra amethystina, at Pilanesberg National Park, Northwest Province, South Africa (female) (17019732982), crop1.jpg	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.
File:Scarlet-chested sunbird, Chalcomitra senegalensis, at Lake Chivero, Harare, Zimbabwe - male (21681953409).jpg	File:Scarlet-chested sunbird, Chalcomitra senegalensis, at Kruger National Park, South Africa. - 49385589796, crop.jpg	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.
File:Hunters Sunbird RWD3d, crop.jpg		Hunter's sunbird	Chalcomitra hunteri	Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda.
File:Chalcomitra balfouri Proceedingsofgen81zool 0245a (cropped).jpg		Socotra sunbird	Chalcomitra balfouri	Socotra.

References

• Barlow, Wacher and Disley, Birds of The Gambia Template:ISBN