Ornate Sunbird Cinnyris ornatus, Sahul Sunbird Cinnyris frenatus, Tukangbesi Sunbird C. infrenatus, Palawan Sunbird C. aurora, South Moluccan Sunbird C. clementiae, Flores Sea Sunbird C. teysmanni, and Mamberamo Sunbird C. idenburgi are split from Garden Sunbird (formerly Olive-backed Sunbird) C. jugularis (Clements 2007:540–541)
Details: No fewer than fifteen of the 23 subspecies long recognized as comprising the C. jugularis complex (Rand 1967) were first described as separate species. Nevertheless, there has been surprisingly little effort toward revising this highly polytypic assemblage until recently. Lohman et al. (2010) showed remarkably deep divergences in mtDNA between taxa from different major geographic regions, and Marcaigh et al. (2022) further elucidated the picture of mtDNA divergence among Sulawesi region taxa. Vocalizations are complex but some differences between taxa in song are apparent. Beehler and Pratt (2015) and del Hoyo and Collar (2016) considered the little-known C. idenburgi of the inland lowlands of northern New Guinea to be a separate species largely due to apparent parapatry and possible sympatry. WGAC and Clements et al. (2023) consider that, on the basis of the deep mtDNA divergences, coupled with plumage and vocalizations, it is untenable to continue to treat the complex as a single species, and although crucial data other than plumages are lacking for some key taxa, eight species are now recognized.