Honeyeaters (Meliphagidae)
Sooty Honeyeater (Melidectes fuscus) - HBW 13, p. 611
French: Méliphage fuligineux
German: Buntwarzen-Honigfresser
Spanish: Mielero Fuliginoso
Other common names: Sooty Melidectes
Taxonomy: Acanthochoera fusca De Vis, 1897, Mount Scratchley, Wharton Range, south-east New Guinea.
Study of relationships within genus needed. Present species sometimes placed with M. nouhuysi and M. princeps in a separate genus, Melionyx; all three, along with M. whitemanensis, comprise a group of medium-sized species that differ from others in genus in size, morphology, plumage and voice. Birds in Eastern Highlands proposed as a separate race, gilliardi (described from Mt Wilhelm, in Bismarck Range), but intermediate geographically and morphologically between occidentalis and nominate, and synonymized with latter. Two subspecies recogniz.. View all taxonomy...
Study of relationships within genus needed. Present species sometimes placed with M. nouhuysi and M. princeps in a separate genus, Melionyx; all three, along with M. whitemanensis, comprise a group of medium-sized species that differ from others in genus in size, morphology, plumage and voice. Birds in Eastern Highlands proposed as a separate race, gilliardi (described from Mt Wilhelm, in Bismarck Range), but intermediate geographically and morphologically between occidentalis and nominate, and synonymized with latter. Two subspecies recognized.
Subspecies and Distribution:
- occidentalis Junge, 1939 - Central Ranges of New Guinea, from Snow Mts (Nassau Range and Oranje Mts) E to Eastern Highlands (Mt Hagen, Mt Wilhelm, and Mt Giluwe and Kubor Range).
- fuscus (De Vis, 1897) - mountains of SE New Guinea E from Eastern Highlands.
- Least Concern Enlarge map
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A dorsal view of a bird looking around Locality Mount Hagen, Enga Province, Papua New Guinea (mainland), New Guinea (ssp occidentalis)
Helmut Schenkel Brunner 31 August 2002 4 years ago 3 sec 2.6 -
A bird in a bush preening and flying away. Locality Lake Habbema, West Papua (Indonesia), New Guinea (ssp occidentalis)
Josep del Hoyo 17 July 2008 3 years ago 14 sec 2.3
- No photographs available yet
- No sound recordings available yet
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