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Anthreptes

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Anthreptes
Brown-throated sunbird

Anthreptes malacensis

Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Nectariniidae
Genus: Anthreptes
Swainson, 1832
Type species
Cinnyris javanica[1]
Swainson, 1832
Species

See text

Anthreptes is a genus of passerine birds in the sunbird family, Nectariniidae.

These small birds are found in Africa, Southeast Asia, the Greater Sunda Islands, the Philippines and western Wallacea. Most species show marked sexual dichromatism with the male having more brightly coloured plumage.[2]

Taxonomy

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The genus Anthreptes was introduced in 1832 by the English zoologist William Swainson with Cynniris javanica Swainson as the type species and only species in the genus.[3] The name Cynniris javanica is a junior synonym of Certhia malacensis that had been introduced in 1786 by Austrian naturalist Giovanni Antonio Scopoli.[4] The genus name combines the Ancient Greek ανθος/anthos meaning "flower" or "blossom" with θρεπτης/threptēs meaning "feeder".[5]

Species

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The genus contains 15 species:[6]

ImageCommon nameScientific nameDistribution
Plain-backed sunbirdAnthreptes reichenowiKenya and north-eastern Tanzania
Anchieta's sunbirdAnthreptes anchietaeAngola, the DRC, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Zambia
Plain sunbirdAnthreptes simplexBrunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, and Thailand.
Brown-throated sunbirdAnthreptes malacensisMyanmar to the Lesser Sundas and west Philippines.
Grey-throated sunbirdAnthreptes griseigularisPhilippines.
Red-throated sunbirdAnthreptes rhodolaemusBrunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand.
Mangrove sunbirdAnthreptes gabonicusSenegal to northwestern Angola.
Western violet-backed sunbirdAnthreptes longuemareisub-Saharan Africa
Eastern violet-backed sunbirdAnthreptes orientalisDjibouti in north to Tanzania
Uluguru violet-backed sunbirdAnthreptes neglectuseastern Kenya, eastern Tanzania, and north-eastern Mozambique.
Violet-tailed sunbirdAnthreptes aurantiusAngola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Gabon.
Little green sunbirdAnthreptes seimundiAngola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, and Uganda.
Yellow-chinned sunbirdAnthreptes rectirostris[7]Sierra Leone to Ghana.
Grey-chinned sunbirdAnthreptes tephrolaemus[7]Nigeria to Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Angola and Bioko.
Banded green sunbirdAnthreptes rubritorquesTanzania.

References

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  1. "Nectariniidae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
  2. Cheke, R.A.; Mann, C.F. (2008). "Family Nectariniidae (Sunbirds)". In del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Christie, D.A. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World. Vol. 13: Penduline-tits to Shrikes. Barcelona, Spain: Lynx Edicions. pp. 196-321 [197]. ISBN 978-84-96553-45-3.
  3. Swainson, William; Richardson, J. (1831). Fauna Boreali-Americana, or, The Zoology of the Northern Parts of British America. Vol. 2: The Birds. London: J. Murray (published 1832). pp. 495–496. The title page bears the year 1831 but the volume was not published until 1832. See: Browning, M. Ralph; Monroe, Burt L. (1991). "Clarifications and corrections of the dates of issue of some publications containing descriptions of North American birds". Archives of Natural History. 18 (3): 381-405 [392]. doi:10.3366/anh.1991.18.3.381.
  4. Paynter, Raymond A. Jr, ed. (1986). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 12. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 209.
  5. Jobling, James A. "Anthreptes". The Key to Scientific Names. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Retrieved 28 September 2025.
  6. Gill, Frank; Donsker, David, eds. (2019). "Dippers, leafbirds, flowerpeckers, sunbirds". World Bird List Version 9.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
  7. 1 2 "Species Updates – IOC World Bird List". Retrieved 2021-05-27.
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