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| Banda myzomela | |
|---|---|
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| Banda Myzolema (Annabellae subspecies) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Meliphagidae |
| Genus: | Myzomela |
| Species: | M. boiei |
| Binomial name | |
| Myzomela boiei (Müller, 1843) | |
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The Banda myzomela (Myzomela boiei) is a bird species in the Meliphagidae family. It is endemic to Indonesia, and found in the Banda, Babar and Tanimbar Islands. The two usually recognised subspecies are separated by 350 km (220 mi) of open sea.
In 2025 a new study proposed that the two subspecies be raised to species level because of notable differences in plumage, size and song, with the population on Babar also split as the new species Myzomela babarensis. [2]
The two commmonly recognised subspecies are:
- Myzomela boiei boiei (the nominate subspecies), found in the Banda Islands and the Maluku Islands.
- Myzomela boiei annabellae, found in the Babar and Tanimbar Islands (which include Yamdena and Selaru Islands, and the Lesser Sunda Islands).
The species has sexual dimorphism. The male has a distinctive red head, neck, upper breast, and mantle, black eye ring, scapulars, and wings, a distinctive pointed beak and brown legs. The female is primarily brown, with an orange part underneath the also-pointed beak. The juveniles are not described. The annabellae subspecies differs from the boiei subspecies because the males have a white chest instead of a black one.
Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical or tropical mangrove forests, and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. It is a possible nomadic species that changes its living place in the region and go foraging in twos (probably pairs), and sometimes in flocks. They have their eggs in September and the chicks fledge at April.
