Shelley's Sunbird (Cinnyris shelleyi) [XC566523]
by id from Muchinga Escarpment SE of Serenje, Central Province, Zambia (call)
Shelley's Sunbird (Cinnyris shelleyi) [XC177774]
by Dries Van de Loock from near Choma, Zambia (song)
Subspecies
Nectarinia shelleyi (Sibley and Monroe 1990, 1993) was split by Irwin (2005) into Shelley's Sunbird (Cinnyris shelleyi) and Hofmann's Sunbird (Nectarinia hofmanni) based on morphological and putative ecological differences, but this treatment is not followed by the BirdLife Taxonomic Working Group (BTWG) because, while there is a marked difference between the two taxa in size and bill shape, the cited plumage differences are unconvincing based upon the small sample of specimens at the Natural History Museum, Tring UK, used by the authors and checked by the BTWG.
May form a superspecies with Mariqua Sunbird (Cinnyris mariquensis), and both are sometimes included in a larger superspecies together with Congo Sunbird (Cinnyris congensis), Red-chested Sunbird (Cinnyris erythrocercus) and Black-bellied Sunbird (Cinnyris nectarinioides). It has been suggested that the subspecies may represent two distinct species, and that these may not necessarily be sister taxa. Further study is required.
The following 2 subspecies are recognised:
hofmanni (Alexander, 1899) - Eastern Tanzania. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Hofmann's Sunbird (Nectarinia hofmanni).
BirdLife International Species Factsheet