The Tukangbesi sunbird (Cinnyris infrenatus) is a species of passerine bird in the sunbird family Nectariniidae that is found on the Tukangbesi Islands that lie to the southeast of Sulawesi in Indonesia. It was formerly considered to be a subspecies of the olive-backed sunbird, now renamed the garden sunbird (Cinnyris jugularis).
| Tukangbesi sunbird | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Nectariniidae |
| Genus: | Cinnyris |
| Species: | C. infrenatus
|
| Binomial name | |
| Cinnyris infrenatus Hartert, 1903
| |
| Synonyms | |
|
Cinnyris jugularis infrenatus Hartert, 1903 | |
Taxonomy edit
The Tukangbesi sunbird was formally described in 1903 by the German orthithologist Ernst Hartert based on specimens collected by Heinrich Kühn on the Tukangbesi Islands (also known as the Wakatobi Islands) which lie southeast of Sulawesi in Indonesia. Hartert coined the binomial name Cinnyris infrenatus.[1][2] The specific epithet is Latin meaning "unbridled".[3] It was formerly considered as a subspecies of the olive-backed sunbird (renamed as the garden sunbird) (Cinnyris jugularis) but is now treated as a separate species based on the genetic and plumage differences.[4][5][6] The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.[4]
Description edit
The Tukangbesi sunbird is 10–11.4 cm (3.9–4.5 in) in length. The male weighs 6.7–11.9 g (0.24–0.42 oz), the female 6–10 g (0.21–0.35 oz). The species is sexual dimorphic. The male is dark brownish-olive above, the remiges are black with light edging and the outer feathers of the black tail have a white tip. The throat is blue-black iridescent, the iris is dark brown and the legs are black. The underparts are yellow. This species lacks the yellow supercilium and yellow moustachial stripe of the Sahul sunbird. The female lacks the iridescent throat patch.[1][7]
Behaviour edit
Breeding edit
The elongated hanging nest is 30–60 cm (12–24 in) in length and has a hooded side entrance. It is usually placed between 0.5 and 1.5 m (1 ft 8 in and 4 ft 11 in) above the ground but can occasionally be as high as 10 m (33 ft). It is constructed by the female using grass, bark, moss, lichens, leaf fragments, vegetable fibres and spider webs. The clutch of 1–3 eggs is incubated by the female. The eggs hatch after 11–16 days and the young are then fed by both parents. The chicks fledge after 13–16 days. Normally several broods are raised each year.[7]
Food and feeding edit
It forages either singly or in small groups. The diet consists of small insects, spiders, nectar and small fruit.[7]
References edit
- ^ a b Hartert, Ernst (1903). "On the birds collected on the Tukang-Besi Islands and Buton, southeast of Celebes, by Mr. Heinrich Kühn". Novitates Zoologicae. 10: 18-38 [29].
- ^ Paynter, Raymond A. Jr, ed. (1986). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 12. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 246.
- ^ Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 205. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
- ^ a b Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (December 2023). "Dippers, leafbirds, flowerpeckers, sunbirds". IOC World Bird List Version 14.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
- ^ Ó Marcaigh, F.; Kelly, D.J.; O’Connell, D.P.; Analuddin, K.; Karya, A.; McCloughan, J.; Tolan, E.; Lawless, N.; Marples, N.M. (2023). "Small islands and large biogeographic barriers have driven contrasting speciation patterns in Indo-Pacific sunbirds (Aves: Nectariniidae)". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 198 (1): 72–92. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlac081. hdl:2262/101492.
- ^ Cheke, R.; Mann, C.; Kirwan, G.M.; Christie, D.A. (2023). Keeney, B.K.; Billerman, S.M. (eds.). "Tukangbesi Sunbird (Cinnyris infrenatus), version 1.0". Birds of the World. Ithaca, NY, USA: Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
- ^ a b c 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 [296-297]. ISBN 978-84-96553-45-3.