Green-tailed Sunbird
Aethopyga nipalensis (Hodgson, 1836)
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 green-tailed sunbird (Aethopyga nipalensis) or Nepal yellow-backed sunbird is a species of bird in the family Nectariniidae.
It is found in Nepal and the northern regions of the Indian subcontinent, stretching eastwards into parts of Southeast Asia.
Its natural habitats are temperate forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. In southeast Szechwan and Yunnan, it lives in open mountain woods with moss-covered trees, from 1825 to 3350 meters elevation.
Wikipedia contributors, Green-tailed sunbird; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:43:44.853885+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Aethopyga nipalensis (Hodgson, 1836)
- Name authority
- (Hodgson, 1836)
- Common name
- Green-tailed Sunbird
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Nectariniidae
- Genus
- Aethopyga
- 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
- genusAethopyga Cabanis, 1850
- speciesAethopyga nipalensis (Hodgson, 1836)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Aethopyga. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Fire-tailed SunbirdAethopyga ignicauda (Hodgson, 1836) | NectariniidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Metallic-winged SunbirdAethopyga pulcherrima Sharpe, 1876 | NectariniidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Aethopyga primigenia (Hachisuka, 1941) | NectariniidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Elegant SunbirdAethopyga duyvenbodei (Schlegel, 1871) | NectariniidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Apo SunbirdAethopyga boltoni Mearns, 1905 | NectariniidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Aethopyga guimarasensis (Steere, 1890) | NectariniidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Aethopyga bella Tweeddale, 1877 | NectariniidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Fork-tailed SunbirdAethopyga christinae Swinhoe, 1869 | NectariniidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Lovely SunbirdAethopyga shelleyi Sharpe, 1876 | NectariniidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Aethopyga temminckii (S. Muller, 1843) | NectariniidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Aethopyga tibolii Kennedy, Gonzales & Miranda, 1997 | NectariniidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Aethopyga jefferyi (Ogilvie-Grant, 1894) | 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=558461 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:65CBG. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.