Violet-backed Sunbird
Encyclopedia
The violet-backed sunbird is a superspecies
made up of four species of African sunbird
s in the Anthreptes
genus. They are sexually dimorphic, and the males have glossy purple or blue upperparts and whitish underparts. In their common name, three of the species are differentiated geographically:
Superspecies
A superspecies is a group of at least two more or less distinctive species with approximately parapatric distributions. Not all species complexes, whether cryptices or ring species are superspecies, and vice versa, but many are...
made up of four species of African sunbird
Sunbird
The sunbirds and spiderhunters are a family, Nectariniidae, of very small passerine birds. There are 132 species in 15 genera. The family is distributed throughout Africa, southern Asia and just reaches northern Australia. Most sunbirds feed largely on nectar, but also take insects and spiders,...
s in the Anthreptes
Anthreptes
Anthreptes is a genus of birds in the sunbird family, Nectariniidae. It usually contains the following species:* Plain-backed Sunbird, Anthreptes reichenowi* Anchieta's Sunbird, Anthreptes anchietae* Plain Sunbird, Anthreptes simplex...
genus. They are sexually dimorphic, and the males have glossy purple or blue upperparts and whitish underparts. In their common name, three of the species are differentiated geographically:
- Western Violet-backed SunbirdWestern Violet-backed SunbirdThe Western Violet-backed Sunbird is a species of bird in the Nectariniidae family. It is the most widely ranging species in the violet-backed sunbird superspecies, ranging throughout a large part of tropical mainland sub-Saharan Africa not inhabited by other members of the superspecies...
(Anthreptes orientalis): Widely in mainland sub-Saharan AfricaSub-Saharan AfricaSub-Saharan Africa as a geographical term refers to the area of the African continent which lies south of the Sahara. A political definition of Sub-Saharan Africa, instead, covers all African countries which are fully or partially located south of the Sahara...
. - Eastern Violet-backed Sunbird (Anthreptes orientalis): East AfricaEast AfricaEast Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...
. - Uluguru Violet-backed SunbirdUluguru Violet-backed SunbirdThe Uluguru Violet-backed Sunbird is a species of bird in the Nectariniidae family. It is found in forests in eastern Kenya, eastern Tanzania and north-eastern Mozambique. It is part of the violet-backed sunbird superspecies.-References:* BirdLife International 2004....
(Anthreptes neglectus): KenyaKenyaKenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, TanzaniaTanzaniaThe United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
and MozambiqueMozambiqueMozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
. - Violet-tailed SunbirdViolet-tailed SunbirdThe Violet-tailed Sunbird is a species of bird in the Nectariniidae family. It is found near water in forest, scrub and mangrove in the Central African countries of Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Gabon...
(Anthreptes aurantium): Central AfricaCentral AfricaCentral Africa is a core region of the African continent which includes Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Rwanda....
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