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{{Short description|Species of bird}}
{{speciesbox
| image = Beautiful sunbird (Cinnyris pulchellus pulchellus) male.jpg
| image_caption = In the Gambia
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name=iucn>{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |year=2024 |title=''Cinnyris pulchellus'' |article-number=e.T103799817A263873518 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2024-2.RLTS.T103799817A263873518.en}}</ref>
| genus = Cinnyris
| species = pulchellus
| authority = ([[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], 1766)
| synonyms = ''Certhia pulchella'' {{small|Linnaeus, 1766}}
}}

The '''beautiful sunbird''' ('''''Cinnyris pulchellus'''''), formerly placed in the [[genus]] ''Nectarinia'', is a small [[passerine]] bird in the sunbird family [[Nectariniidae]]. It is native to tropical Africa, its range extending from Senegal and Guinea in the west to Sudan, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Kenya in the east. It was formerly considered to be [[conspecific]] with the [[gorgeous sunbird]] (''Cinnyris melanogastrus'').

==Taxonomy==
The beautiful sunbird was [[Species description|formally described]] in 1766 by the Swedish naturalist [[Carl Linnaeus]] in the [[12th edition of Systema Naturae|twelfth edition]] of his ''[[Systema Naturae]]'' under the [[binomial nomenclature|binomial name]] ''Certhia pulchella''.<ref>{{cite book | last=Linnaeus | first=Carl | author-link=Carl Linnaeus | year=1766 | title=Systema naturae: per regna tria natura, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis | edition=12th | volume=1, Part 1 | publisher=Laurentii Salvii | location=Holmiae (Stockholm) | language=Latin | page=187 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/42946383 }}</ref><ref name=peters>{{ cite book | editor-last=Paynter | editor-first=Raymond A. Jr | year=1986 | title=Check-List of Birds of the World | volume=12 | publisher=Museum of Comparative Zoology | location=Cambridge, Massachusetts | page=266 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/14482383 }}</ref> Linnaeus based his account on "Le grimpereau à longue queue du Sénégal" that had been described and illustrated in 1760 by the French zoologist [[Mathurin Jacques Brisson]].<ref>{{ cite book | last=Brisson | first=Mathurin Jacques | author-link=Mathurin Jacques Brisson | year=1760 | title=Ornithologie, ou, Méthode Contenant la Division des Oiseaux en Ordres, Sections, Genres, Especes & leurs Variétés | volume=3 | language=French, Latin | page=645-647, Plate 34 fig. 3 | location=Paris | publisher=Jean-Baptiste Bauche | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/35953748 }} The two stars (**) at the start of the section indicates that Brisson based his description on the examination of a specimen.</ref> The specific epithet is from [[Latin]] ''pulchellum'' meaning "very pretty" or "beautiful little".<ref>{{ cite web | last=Jobling | first=James A. | title=pulchellus | work=The Key to Scientific Names | url=https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/key-to-scientific-names/search?q=pulchellus | publisher=Cornell Lab of Ornithology | access-date=7 September 2024 }}</ref> Formerly placed in the genus ''[[Nectarinia]]'',<ref name=peters/> the beautiful sunbird is now one of 64 sunbirds placed in the [[genus]] ''[[Cinnyris]]'' that was introduced in 1816 by the French naturalist [[Georges Cuvier]].<ref name=ioc>{{cite web| editor1-last=Gill | editor1-first=Frank | editor1-link=Frank Gill (ornithologist) | editor2-last=Donsker | editor2-first=David | editor3-last=Rasmussen | editor3-first=Pamela | editor3-link=Pamela C. Rasmussen | date=August 2024 | title=Dippers, leafbirds, flowerpeckers, sunbirds | work=IOC World Bird List Version 14.2 | url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/dippers/ | publisher=International Ornithologists' Union | access-date=28 December 2024 }}</ref> It was previously considered to be [[conspecific]] with the [[gorgeous sunbird]] (''Cinnyris melanogastrus'') but the species were split based on the differences in morphology. The beautiful sunbird is [[monotypic]]: no [[subspecies]] are recognised.<ref name=ioc/>

==Description==
Beautiful sunbirds are tiny, only {{convert|10|cm|in|0|abbr=on}} long, although the breeding male's long tail adds another {{convert|5|cm|in|0|abbr=on}}. They have medium-length thin down-curved bills and brush-tipped tubular tongues, both of which are adaptations to their nectar feeding. The male has a black head, bright metallic green upper parts, scarlet breast bordered with yellow and black belly. The central feathers of the teal are greatly elongated. The female is brown above with yellowish underparts.<ref name=Mann>{{cite book|author1=Mann, Clive F.|author2=Cheke, Robert A.|title=Sunbirds: A Guide to the Sunbirds, Flowerpeckers, Spiderhunters and Sugarbirds of the World|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AeutEaTRyswC&pg=PA281 |year=2010 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-4081-3568-6 |pages=281–282}}</ref>

==Distribution and habitat==
The beautiful sunbird occurs in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo and Uganda. This species is found in a variety of open habitats with some trees, including [[savannah]], riverside thickets, mangroves, beachsides and gardens.<ref name=HBWA>{{cite journal |url=http://www.hbw.com/node/60037 |title=Beautiful Sunbird (''Cinnyris pulchellus'') |author=Cheke, R. |author2=Mann, C. |editor1-first=Shawn M |editor1-last=Billerman |editor2-first=Brooke K |editor2-last=Keeney |editor3-first=Paul G |editor3-last=Rodewald |editor4-first=Thomas S |editor4-last=Schulenberg |year=2020 |journal=Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive |publisher=Lynx Edicions, Barcelona |doi=10.2173/bow.beasun2.01 |s2cid=241775011 |access-date=19 October 2016|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

==Behaviour and ecology==
The sunbirds are a group of very small [[Old World]] [[passerine]] [[bird]]s 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 most of the time. The beautiful sunbird is a common breeder across sub-[[Sahara]]n tropical [[Africa]]. One or two [[egg]]s are laid in a suspended nest in a tree. It is a seasonal [[bird migration|migrant]] within its range.<ref name=Mann/>

==Status==
The beautiful sunbird has a wide range and a large total population. It is a common bird and the [[International Union for Conservation of Nature]] has assessed its conservation status as being of "[[Least-concern species|least concern]]".<ref name=iucn/>

==Gallery==
<gallery mode = packed heights = 130px>
Beautiful sunbird (Cinnyris pulchellus pulchellus) male.jpg|male ''C. p. pulchellus''<br />[[Gambia]]
Beautiful sunbird (Cinnyris pulchellus pulchellus) juvenile.jpg|juvenile ''C. p. pulchellus''<br />[[Gambia]]
BeautifulSunbirdEthiopia.jpg|male ''C. p. melanogastrus''<br />[[Ethiopia]]
Beautiful sunbird (Cinnyris pulchellus).jpg|''C. p. pulchellus''<br />[[Kenya]]
</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q2225977}}

[[Category:Cinnyris|beautiful sunbird]]
[[Category:Birds of Sub-Saharan Africa]]
[[Category:Birds described in 1766|beautiful sunbird]]
[[Category:Animal taxa named by Carl Linnaeus|beautiful sunbird]]

Beautiful sunbird - Revision history

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