Metallic-winged sunbird explained

The metallic-winged sunbird (Aethopyga pulcherrima) is a species of bird in the family Nectariniidae. It is endemic to the Philippines.

Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.

Taxonomy

The metallic-winged sunbird was formally described in 1876 by the English ornithologist Richard Bowdler Sharpe based on specimens collected on the island of Basilan by members of an expedition to the Philippines led by the American ornithologist Joseph Beal Steere. Sharpe coined the binomial name Aethopyga pulcherrima,^{[1] [2]} where the specific epithet is from Latin pulcherrimus meaning "very beautiful".^[3]

Three subspecies are recognised:^[4]

• A. p. pulcherrima Sharpe, 1876 – Eastern Visayas and Mindanao group (central, south Philippines)
• A. p. jefferyi (Ogilvie-Grant, 1894) – montane Luzon (north Philippines, formerly considered as a separate species, the Luzon sunbird)
• A. p. decorosa (McGregor, 1907) – Bohol (central south Philippines, formerly considered as a separate species, the Bohol sunbird)

Notes and References

1. Sharpe . R. Bowdler . Richard Bowdler Sharpe . 1876 . Prof. Steere's expedition to the Philippines . Nature . 14 . 353 . 297–298 . 10.1038/014297a0 . 1876Natur..14..297S .
2. Book: Paynter . Raymond A. Jr . 1986 . Check-List of Birds of the World . 12 . Museum of Comparative Zoology . Cambridge, Massachusetts . 272 .
3. Book: Jobling, James A. . 2010. The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names . Christopher Helm . London . 978-1-4081-2501-4 . 324 .
4. Web site: Gill . Frank . Frank Gill (ornithologist) . Donsker . David . Rasmussen . Pamela . Pamela C. Rasmussen . December 2023 . Dippers, leafbirds, flowerpeckers, sunbirds . IOC World Bird List Version 14.1 . International Ornithologists' Union . 4 February 2024 .