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.
The genus Cyanomitra was introduced in 1853 by the German naturalist Ludwig Reichenbach.[1] The name combines the Ancient Greek kuanos meaning "dark-blue" with mitra meaning "head-band".[2] The type species was designated by George Robert Gray in 1855 as Certhia cyanocephala Shaw.[3] [4] This taxon is now considered to be a subspecies of the green-headed sunbird (Cyanomitra verticalis cyanocephala').[5]
The genus contains 7 species:[5]
| Image | Common name | Scientific Name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cyanomitra verticalis | Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, and Zambia. | ||
| Cyanomitra bannermani | Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Zambia. | ||
| Cyanomitra cyanolaema | Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Togo, and Uganda. | ||
| Cyanomitra oritis | Cameroon, Bioko and eastern Nigeria. | ||
| Cyanomitra alinae | Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and Uganda. | ||
| Cyanomitra olivacea | Africa south of the Sahel. | ||
| Cyanomitra veroxii | Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Somalia, South Africa, Swaziland, and Tanzania. | ||