Cyanomitra 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.
Taxonomy The genus Cyanomitra was introduced in 1853 by the German naturalist Ludwig Reichenbach. The name combines the Ancient Greek kuanos meaning "dark-blue" with mitra meaning "head-band". The type species was designated by George Robert Gray in 1855 as Certhia cyanocephala Shaw. This taxon is now considered to be a subspecies of the green-headed sunbird (Cyanomitra verticalis cyanocephala'''').
Species The genus contains 7 species:
Image Common name Scientific name Distribution Green-headed sunbird Cyanomitra verticalis widely distributed across west and central Africa Bannerman's sunbird Cyanomitra bannermani Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Zambia. Blue-throated brown sunbird Cyanomitra cyanolaema African tropical rainforest Cameroon sunbird Cyanomitra oritis Western High Plateau & Bioko Blue-headed sunbird Cyanomitra alinae Albertine Rift montane forests Olive sunbird Cyanomitra olivacea Africa south of the Sahel. Grey sunbird Cyanomitra veroxii Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Somalia, South Africa, Swaziland, and Tanzania.
References
Further reading Barlow, Wacher and Disley, Birds of The Gambia''