Shelley's Sunbird

SCI Name:  Cinnyris shelleyi
Protonym:  Cinnyris shelleyi Bull.Br.Orn.Club 8 p.54
Taxonomy:  Passeriformes / Nectariniidae / Cinnyris
Taxonomy Code:  shesun2
Type Locality:  Zambezi River, 60 miles below junction of Kafue-Zambezi rivers (Ibis, 1899, pp. 556, 642).
Author:  Alexander
Publish Year:  1899
IUCN Status:  Least Concern

DEFINITIONS

CINNYRIS
(Nectariniidae; Ϯ Splendid Sunbird C. coccinigastrus) Gr. κιννυρις kinnuris  small bird mentioned by Hesychius, not further identified (cf. Gr. myth. Cinyras king of Cyprus, renowned for his wealth and opulence, who committed incest with his daughter Myrrha, who fled to Arabia and gave birth to Adonis; erroneous "Cinnyris (Gr) = shining" (Hockey et al. 2005)); "Les SOUÏ-MANGAS. (CINNYRIS. Cuv.) (2).   N'ont pas non plus la queue usée; leur bec long et très-grêle a le bord de ses deux mandibules finement dentelé en scie; leur langue, susceptible de s'allonger hors du bec, se termine en fourche; ce sont de petits oiseaux dont les mâles brillent au temps des amours de couleurs métalliques et approchant de l'éclat des colibris, qu'ils représentent à cet égard dans l'ancien monde, se trouvant principalement en Afrique.  Ils vivent sur les fleurs dont ils pompent le suc  ...   Le plus grand nombre a la queue égale. (1)   ...   (2) Cinnyris, nom grec d'un très-petit oiseau inconnu. Souï-manga signifie, dit-on, mange sucre dans un jargon de Madagascar.   ...   (1) Certh. splendida, Sh. Vieill. 82. — C. afra, Edw. 347. — C. superba, Vieill. 22. — C. lotenia, enl. 575, 2 et 3, Vieill. 34. — Ametystina, Vieill. 5, 6. — Chalybæa, enl. 246, 3, Vieill. 10, 13, 18, 24, 34, 80. — Omnicolor Seb. I, 69, 5. — Cuprea, Vieill. 23. — Purpurata, Edw. 265, Vieill. 11. — Cyanocephala, Vieill. 7. — Zeilonica, enl. 576, 4, Vieill. 29, 30. — Dubia, Vieill. 81. — Senegalensis, Vieill. 8. — Sperata, enl. 246, 1, 2, Vieill. 16,32. — Madagascariensis, Vieill. 18. — Lepida, Sparrm. 35." (Cuvier 1817); "Cinnyris Cuvier, 1817, Règne Animal, 1, p. 411. Type, by subsequent designation (G. R. Gray, 1855, Cat. Gen. Subgen. Birds, p. 19), Certhia splendida Shaw, 1811 = Certhia coccinigaster Latham, 1801." (Rand in Peters, 1967, XII, p. 223).
Var. Cyniris, Cynnira, Cynniris, Cinanyris, Cinayris, Cynnyris.
Synon. Aethocinnyris, Angaladiana, Arachnechthra, Cheimocinnyris, Chromatophora, Chrysocinnyris, Cyrtostomus, Eremicinnyris, Eucinnyris, Haplocinnyris, Helionympha, Maricornis, Melanocinnyris, Mellisuga, Microcinnyris, Notiocinnyris, Panaeola, Shelleyia.

shelleyi
● Capt. George Ernest Shelley (1840-1910) British Army, geologist, ornithologist, collector in South Africa, Egypt, the Sudan, Australia and Burma (Aethopyga, syn. Apus niansae, Bubo, subsp. Caprimulgus pectoralis, syn. Chlorocichla flavicollis flavigula, Cinnyris, syn. Coccyzus minor, syn. Crithagra sulphurata sharpii, Cryptospiza, syn. Eubucco bourcierii aequatorialis, syn. Eubucco bourcierii orientalis, Lamprotornis, Nesocharis, syn. Onychognathus morio, Passer, syn. Ploceus velatus, subsp. Riparia riparia, subsp. Streptopelia decipiens, subsp. Trachyphonus erythrocephalus).
● Sir Edward Shelley 4^th Baronet Shelley of Castle Goring (1827-1890) English traveller, collector in Matabeleland 1873 (syn. Myrmecocichla arnotti, Scleroptila).

SUBSPECIES

Shelley's Sunbird (Shelley's)
SCI Name: Cinnyris shelleyi shelleyi
shelleyi
● Capt. George Ernest Shelley (1840-1910) British Army, geologist, ornithologist, collector in South Africa, Egypt, the Sudan, Australia and Burma (Aethopyga, syn. Apus niansae, Bubo, subsp. Caprimulgus pectoralis, syn. Chlorocichla flavicollis flavigula, Cinnyris, syn. Coccyzus minor, syn. Crithagra sulphurata sharpii, Cryptospiza, syn. Eubucco bourcierii aequatorialis, syn. Eubucco bourcierii orientalis, Lamprotornis, Nesocharis, syn. Onychognathus morio, Passer, syn. Ploceus velatus, subsp. Riparia riparia, subsp. Streptopelia decipiens, subsp. Trachyphonus erythrocephalus).
● Sir Edward Shelley 4^th Baronet Shelley of Castle Goring (1827-1890) English traveller, collector in Matabeleland 1873 (syn. Myrmecocichla arnotti, Scleroptila).

Shelley's Sunbird (Hofmann's)
SCI Name: Cinnyris shelleyi hofmanni
hofmanni
H. Hofmann (fl. 1910) collector in German East Africa (subsp. Cinnyris shelleyi).