Leptocoma is a genus of sunbirds found from tropical South Asia to Papua New Guinea. Its members are sometimes included in Nectarinia.
| Leptocoma | |
|---|---|
| |
| Male purple-rumped sunbird (Leptocoma zeylonica) | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Nectariniidae |
| Genus: | Leptocoma Cabanis, 1851 |
| Type species | |
| Nectarinia hasseltii Temminck, 1825
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| Species | |
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See text | |
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.
Taxonomy
editThe genus was introduced by the German ornithologist Jean Cabanis in 1850 with the type species as Nectarinia hasseltii Temminck 1825, a junior synonym of Certhia brasiliana Gmelin, JF, 1788, Van Hasselt's sunbird.[1][2][3] The name Leptocoma combines the Ancient Greek words leptos "delicate" or "fine" and komē "hair".[4]
Its six species in the genus are:[5]
| Male | Female | Common Name | Scientific name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Purple-rumped sunbird | Leptocoma zeylonica | India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh |
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Crimson-backed sunbird | Leptocoma minima | Western Ghats of India |
 |
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Purple-throated sunbird | Leptocoma sperata | the Philippines |
 |
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Van Hasselt's sunbird | Leptocoma brasiliana | Northeast India, Bangladesh and Southeast Asia |
 |
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Black sunbird | Leptocoma aspasia | eastern Indonesia and New Guinea |
 |
 |
Copper-throated sunbird | Leptocoma calcostetha | Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam |
References
edit- ^ Cabanis, Jean; Heine, Ferdinand (1850). Museum Heineanum : Verzeichniss der ornithologischen Sammlung des Oberamtmann Ferdinand Heine, auf Gut St. Burchard vor Halberstadt (in German and Latin). Vol. 1. Halberstadt: R. Frantz. p. 104.
- ^ Paynter, Raymond A. Jr, ed. (1986). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 12. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 223.
- ^ Dickinson, E.C.; Christidis, L., eds. (2014). The Howard & Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World. Vol. 2: Passerines (4th ed.). Eastbourne, UK: Aves Press. p. 271. ISBN 978-0-9568611-2-2.
- ^ Jobling, J.A. (2018). del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Sargatal, J.; Christie, D.A.; de Juana, E. (eds.). "Key to Scientific Names in Ornithology". Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
- ^ Gill, Frank; Donsker, David, eds. (2018). "Dippers, leafbirds, flowerpeckers, sunbirds". World Bird List Version 8.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
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