Black-capped catbird

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Black-capped catbird
Ailuroedus melanocephalus - The Birds of New Guinea (cropped).jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Ptilonorhynchidae
Genus: Ailuroedus
Species:
A. melanocephalus
Binomial name
Ailuroedus melanocephalus
Ramsay, EP, 1883

The black-capped catbird (Ailuroedus melanocephalus) is a species of bowerbird (Ptilonorhynchidae), native to southeastern New Guinea.

This species was formerly considered a subspecies of the spotted catbird before being reclassified as a distinct species in 2016. Martin Irestedt and colleagues examined the black-eared, spotted- and green catbird species complex genetically and found there were seven distinct lineages: the green catbird (A. crassirostris) of eastern Australia and the spotted catbird (A. maculosus) of eastern Queensland being the earliest offshoots, followed by the Huon catbird (A. astigmaticus) and black-capped catbird (A. melanocephalus) of eastern New Guinea, the Arfak catbird (A. arfakianus) of the Bird's Head (Vogelkop) Peninsula, the northern catbird (A. jobiensis) of central-northern New Guinea, and black-eared catbird (A.melanotis) of southwestern New Guinea, Aru Islands and far North Queensland. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bowerbird</span> Family of birds

Bowerbirds make up the bird family Ptilonorhynchidae. They are renowned for their unique courtship behaviour, where males build a structure and decorate it with sticks and brightly coloured objects in an attempt to attract a mate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catbird</span> Group of birds

Several unrelated groups of songbirds are called catbirds because of their wailing calls, which resemble a cat's meowing. The genus name Ailuroedus likewise is from the Greek for 'cat-singer' or 'cat-voiced'.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Satin bowerbird</span> Species of bird

The satin bowerbird is a bowerbird endemic to eastern Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern whipbird</span> Species of bird

The eastern whipbird is an insectivorous passerine bird native to the east coast of Australia. Its whip-crack song is a familiar sound in forests of eastern Australia. Two subspecies are recognised. Heard much more often than seen, it is dark olive-green and black in colour with a distinctive white cheek patch and a crest. The male and female are similar in plumage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Green catbird</span> Species of bird

The green catbird is a species of bowerbird found in subtropical forests along the east coast of Australia, from southeastern Queensland to southern New South Wales. It is named after its distinctive call which sounds like a cat meowing, although it has also been mistaken for a crying child. The green catbird resembles the spotted catbird, which is found in wet tropical rainforests of Far North Queensland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spotted catbird</span> Species of bird

The spotted catbird is a species of bowerbird (Ptilonorhynchidae) which can be found in north Queensland, the eastern Moluccas and New Guinea. Although it is a member of the bowerbird family it does not build a bower.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White-eared catbird</span> Species of bird

The white-eared catbird is a species of bird in the family Ptilonorhynchidae found on New Guinea and the West Papuan Islands. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forest and subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest.

<i>Ailuroedus</i> Genus of birds

Ailuroedus is a genus of birds in the bowerbird family, Ptilonorhynchidae, native to forests in Australia and New Guinea. The common name, catbird, refers to these species' "wailing cat-like calls". The scientific name Ailuroedus is derived from the Greek 'ailouros', meaning cat, and 'eidos', referring to form.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ochre-breasted catbird</span> Species of bird

The ochre-breasted catbird is a species of bird in the family Ptilonorhynchidae. It is found in southern New Guinea. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tan-capped catbird</span> Species of bird

The tan-capped catbird is a species of bird in the family Ptilonorhynchidae. It is found in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black-eared catbird</span> Species of bird

The black-eared catbird is a species of bowerbird (Ptilonorhynchidae) which can be found northern Queensland, Australia, and New Guinea, including its surrounding islands. They are named after their cat-like wails and black ear spot. It is described by its Latin name: ailur-cat, oidos-singing, melas-black and otus-ear.

The Huon catbird is a species of bowerbird (Ptilonorhynchidae) which can be found in northeastern New Guinea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern catbird</span> Species of bird

The Northern catbird is a species of bowerbird (Ptilonorhynchidae) which can be found in central-northern New Guinea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arfak catbird</span> Species of bird

The Arfak catbird is a species of bowerbird (Ptilonorhynchidae) which can be found in the Bird's Head (Vogelkop) Peninsula in western New Guinea.

References

  1. Irestedt, Martin; Batalha-Filho, Henrique; Roselaar, Cees S.; Christidis, Les; Ericson, Per G. P. (2016). "Contrasting phylogeographic signatures in two Australo-Papuan bowerbird species complexes (Aves: Ailuroedus)". Zoologica Scripta. 45 (4): 365–379. doi:10.1111/zsc.12163.