Chalcomitra
Genus of birds
title: "Chalcomitra" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["chalcomitra", "bird-genera", "birds-of-sub-saharan-africa", "taxa-named-by-ludwig-reichenbach"] description: "Genus of birds" topic_path: "general/chalcomitra" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chalcomitra" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Genus of birds ::
| image = Scarlet-chested sunbird, Chalcomitra senegalensis, at Kruger National Park, South Africa, crop.jpg | image2 = Scarlet-chested Sunbird (Nectarinia senegalensis) (W1CDR0000938 BD14).ogg | image2_caption = An adult male Scarlet-chested sunbird (C. senegalensis) in South Africa | taxon = Chalcomitra | authority = Reichenbach, 1853 | type_species = Certhia amethystina | type_species_authority = Shaw, 1812 | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = See text
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: ::data[format=table]
| Male | Female | Common name | Scientific name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| [[File:Buff-throated Sunbird - near Kakum NP - Ghana 14 S4E1680 (16016140920) (cropped2).jpg | 120px]] | Buff-throated sunbird | Chalcomitra adelberti | |
| [[File:Chalcomitra fuliginosa 350889.jpg | 120px]] | Carmelite sunbird | Chalcomitra fuliginosa | |
| [[File:Chalcomitra rubescens 5678288, crop.jpg | 120px]] | Green-throated sunbird | Chalcomitra rubescens | |
| [[File:Amethyst sunbird, Chalcomitra amethystina, male at Loodswaai, Gauteng, South Africa. - 50613935926, crop.jpg | 120px]] | [[File:Amethyst sunbird, Chalcomitra amethystina, at Pilanesberg National Park, Northwest Province, South Africa (female) (17019732982), crop1.jpg | 120px]] | Amethyst sunbird |
| [[File:Scarlet-chested sunbird, Chalcomitra senegalensis, at Lake Chivero, Harare, Zimbabwe - male (21681953409).jpg | 120px]] | [[File:Scarlet-chested sunbird, Chalcomitra senegalensis, at Kruger National Park, South Africa. - 49385589796, crop.jpg | 120px]] | Scarlet-chested sunbird |
| [[File:Hunters Sunbird RWD3d, crop.jpg | 120px]] | Hunter's sunbird | Chalcomitra hunteri | |
| [[File:Chalcomitra balfouri Proceedingsofgen81zool 0245a (cropped).jpg | 120px]] | Socotra sunbird | Chalcomitra balfouri | |
| :: |
References
- Barlow, Wacher and Disley, Birds of The Gambia
References
- . ["Nectariniidae"](https://www.aviansystematics.org/4th-edition-checklist?viewfamilies=187). *The Trust for Avian Systematics*.
- Reichenbach, Ludwig. (1853). "Handbuch der Speciellen Ornithologie". Expedition der Vollständigsten Naturgeschichte.
- (2014). "The Howard & Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World". Aves Press.
- Jobling, J.A.. (2018). "Key to Scientific Names in Ornithology". Lynx Edicions.
- (2018). "Dippers, leafbirds, flowerpeckers, sunbirds". International Ornithologists' Union.
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