Cyanomitra olivacea (A. Smith, 1840)
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The olive sunbird (Cyanomitra olivacea) is a large African species of sunbird belonging to the family Nectariniidae which encompasses species of sunbirds, spiderhunters, and flowerpeckers, and sugarbirds.
It has a large distribution that spans across central Africa from western countries including Senegal, Guinea, and Angola towards eastern countries including Ethiopia, Kenya, and Mozambique. This range also extends to southern African countries including South Africa and Zimbabwe. It is mainly nectarivorous and lives in a variety of forest, scrubland, and modified habitats.
Wikipedia contributors, Olive sunbird; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T13:56:57.100898+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Cyanomitra olivacea (A. Smith, 1840)
- Name authority
- (A. Smith, 1840)
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Nectariniidae
- Genus
- Cyanomitra
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyNectariniidae Vigors, 1825
- genusCyanomitra Reichenbach, 1853
- speciesCyanomitra olivacea (A. Smith, 1840)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Cyanomitra. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Blue-headed SunbirdCyanomitra alinae Jackson, 1904 | NectariniidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Bannerman's SunbirdCyanomitra bannermani Grant & Mackworth-Praed, 1943 | NectariniidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Cyanomitra verticalis (Latham, 1790) | NectariniidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Cyanomitra cyanolaema (Jardine & Fraser, 1852) | NectariniidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Cyanomitra oritis (Reichenow, 1892) | NectariniidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Cyanomitra veroxii (A. Smith, 1831) | NectariniidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Nectarinia olivacea (A. Smith, 1840) (A. Smith, 1840) | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=916402 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:32NNP. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.