Nesocharis


Nesocharis is a genus of small seed-eating birds in the family Estrildidae. They are found in Africa.

Taxonomy

The genus Nesocharis was introduced in 1903 by the English anthropologist Boyd Alexander with Shelley's oliveback as the type species. The name Nesocharis is a combination of the Ancient Greek nēsos, meaning "island" and kharis, meaning "loveliness". The genus Nesocharis is sister to the waxbills in the genus Coccopygia.

Species

The genus contains two species:
ImageScientific nameCommon nameDistribution
White-collared olivebackNesocharis ansorgeiBurundi, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Tanzania & Uganda
Shelley's olivebackNesocharis shelleyiBioko island, western Cameroon and adjacent Nigeria