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.
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. The type species was designated as "Certhia splendida Shaw" by George Robert Gray in 1855. This taxon is a junior synonym of Certhia coccinigaster described by John Latham in 1801. This is now the splendid sunbird. The name Cinnyris is from the Ancient Greek κιννυρις (kinnyris), an unknown small bird mentioned by Hesychius of Alexandria.
It is suspected that the genus is polyphyletic and the positions of many are unresolved:
Species The genus contains 63 species: 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 northwest Kenya Gorgeous sunbird (split from beautiful sunbird) Cinnyris melanogastrus Kenya and Tanzania 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 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 Abyssinian 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 Garden sunbird or olive-backed sunbird Cinnyris jugularis The Philippines Apricot-breasted sunbird Cinnyris buettikoferi Indonesia Flame-breasted sunbird Cinnyris solaris Timor, Wetar and Lesser Sundas 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 Indochina, Sumatra, Java, Borneo and 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
Further reading Barlow, Wacher and Disley, Birds of The Gambia Grimmett, Inskipp and Inskipp, Birds of India Robson, Craig A Field Guide to the Birds of Thailand