Eastern Violet-backed Sunbird
Anthreptes orientalis Hartlaub, 1880
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 eastern violet-backed sunbird (Anthreptes orientalis), also known as the Kenya violet-backed sunbird, is a species of bird in the family Nectariniidae.
It is found in arid savanna of East Africa, ranging from Djibouti in north to Tanzania in south. It is part of the violet-backed sunbird superspecies.
Wikipedia contributors, Eastern violet-backed sunbird; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T12:05:57.692977+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Anthreptes orientalis Hartlaub, 1880
- Name authority
- Hartlaub, 1880
- Common name
- Eastern Violet-backed Sunbird
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Nectariniidae
- Genus
- Anthreptes
- 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
- genusAnthreptes Swainson, 1832
- speciesAnthreptes orientalis Hartlaub, 1880
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Anthreptes. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Plain-backed SunbirdAnthreptes reichenowi Gunning, 1909 | NectariniidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Mangrove SunbirdAnthreptes gabonicus (Hartlaub, 1861) | NectariniidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Anchieta's SunbirdAnthreptes anchietae (Bocage, 1878) | NectariniidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Banded Green SunbirdAnthreptes rubritorques Reichenow, 1905 | NectariniidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Grey-chinned SunbirdAnthreptes rectirostris (Shaw, 1812) | NectariniidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Anthreptes griseigularis Tweeddale, 1878 | NectariniidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Anthreptes seimundi (Ogilvie-Grant, 1908) | NectariniidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Plain SunbirdAnthreptes simplex (S. Muller, 1843) | NectariniidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Western Violet-backed SunbirdAnthreptes longuemarei (Lesson, 1831) | NectariniidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Anthreptes rhodolaemus Shelley, 1878 | NectariniidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Anthreptes aurantius J. Verreaux & E. Verreaux, 1851 | NectariniidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Uluguru Violet-backed SunbirdAnthreptes neglectus Neumann, 1922 | NectariniidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
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=558624 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:5VHZP. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.