Honeybirds | |
---|---|
Prodotiscus regulus | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Piciformes |
Family: | Indicatoridae |
Genus: |
Prodotiscus Sundevall, 1850 |
Species | |
Prodotiscus regulus |
Prodotiscus regulus
Prodotiscus zambesiae
Prodotiscus insignis
Honeybirds are birds in the genus Prodotiscus of the honeyguide family. They are confined to sub-Saharan Africa.
They are all drab coloured birds, with grey or grey-green upperparts, and grey to whitish-grey underparts. They are among the smallest members of the honeyguide family. They have slender bills compared to other members of the family.
Unlike other honeyguides they do not feed on beeswax.
They help in the pollination of plants like Strelitzia, Callistemom(Bottle Brush), Bombax, Butea monosperma, Coral tree; ornithophily
They parasitise nests of cisticolas, sunbirds and other dome-nesting bird species.
There are three species: