The giant sunbird (''Dreptes thomensis'') is a species of bird in the family

Nectariniidae Sunbirds and spiderhunters make up the family Nectariniidae of passerine birds. They are small, slender passerines from the Old World, usually with downward-curved bills. Many are brightly coloured, often with iridescent feathers, particularly ...

. It is the only species in the genus ''Dreptes''.HBW and BirdLife Taxonomic Checklist v3
accessed 16 January 2019 It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

to the island of

São Tomé São Tomé is the capital and largest city of the Central African island country of São Tomé and Príncipe. Its name is Portuguese for " Saint Thomas". Founded in the 15th century, it is one of Africa's oldest colonial cities. History Álvar ...

( São Tomé and Príncipe), where it occurs in the central massif. Its natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

s are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest and subtropical or tropical moist

montane forest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial ...

. It is threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

. The species was first described by José Vicente Barbosa du Bocage in 1889.

References

External links

BirdLife Species Factsheet.
Nectariniidae Endemic birds of São Tomé and Príncipe Birds described in 1889 Fauna of São Tomé Island Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Nectariniidae-stub