| Peltops | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Lowland peltops (Peltops blainvillii) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Artamidae |
| Genus: | Peltops Wagler, 1829 |
| Type species | |
| Eurylaimus blainvillii [1] Lesson & Garnot, 1827 | |
| Species | |
Peltops is a genus of birds in the family Artamidae. It contains two species that are endemic to the island of New Guinea. The species have also had the common name of shieldbill.
The genus Peltops was introduced by the German zoologist Johann Georg Wagler in 1829. [2] The type species is the lowland peltops. [3] The name is from the Greek pelte meaning small shield and ops meaning face. [4] The genus was once placed with the monarch flycatchers, but molecular and morphometric studies place it closer to the butcherbirds, [5] possibly as a sister taxon to this group. [6] The genus is placed in its own subfamily, Peltopsinae. [7] [8]
The genus contains two species: [9]
| Image | Scientific name | Common Name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Peltops blainvillii | Lowland peltops | Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. |
| Peltops montanus | Mountain peltops | Indonesia and Papua New Guinea | |
Peltops are smaller than the butcherbirds, and have a less massive but still large bill. The mountain peltops is the larger species, at 20 cm (7.9 in), whereas the lowland peltops is slightly smaller at 18 to 19 cm (7.1–7.5 in). The hooked bill is the same size in both species, making it proportionally larger in the lowland peltops. [10]
Both species occupy rainforest on New Guinea, but are separated by altitude. The lowland peltops ranges across the island from sea level to 600 m (2,000 ft), whereas the mountain peltops ranges from 600 to 3,000 m (2,000–9,800 ft). Within the forest they are particularly common at forest openings and edges, tree falls, river edges, and other disturbed areas including human modified openings like roads and gardens. In undisturbed virgin forest they may use massive trees emerging from and above the canopy. [10]
Cisticolas are a genus of very small insectivorous birds formerly classified in the Old World warbler family Sylviidae, but now usually considered to be in the separate family Cisticolidae, along with other southern warbler genera. They are believed to be quite closely related to the swallows and martins, the bulbuls and the white-eyes. The genus contains about 50 species, of which only two are not found in Africa: one in Madagascar and the other from Asia to Australasia. They are also sometimes called fantail-warblers due to their habit of conspicuously flicking their tails, or tailor-birds because of their nests.
The magpie-robins or shamas are medium-sized insectivorous birds in the genus Copsychus. They were formerly in the thrush family Turdidae, but are now treated as part of the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae. They are garden- and forest-dwelling species found in Africa and Asia.
The ioras are a small family, Aegithinidae, of four passerine bird species found in south and southeast Asia. The family is composed of a single genus, Aegithina. They were formerly grouped with the leafbirds and fairy-bluebirds, in the family Irenidae.
The small bird genus Geronticus belongs to the ibis subfamily Threskiornithinae. Its name is derived from the Greek gérontos in reference to the bald head of these dark-plumaged birds; in English, they are called bald ibises.
The crowned pigeons (Goura) is a genus of birds in the family Columbidae. It contains four large species of pigeon that are endemic to the island of New Guinea and a few surrounding islands. The species are extremely similar to each other in appearance, and occupy different regions of New Guinea. The genus was introduced by the English naturalist James Francis Stephens in 1819.
Manucodes are birds-of-paradise in the genus Manucodia that are medium-sized with black-glossed purple and green plumages.
Petroica is a genus of Australasian robins, named for their red and pink markings. They are not closely related to the European robins nor the American robins.
The Kofiau paradise kingfisher is a tree kingfisher belonging to the family Alcedinidae, subfamily Halcyoninae.
The blue-naped parrot, also known as the blue-crowned green parrot, Luzon parrot, the Philippine green parrot, and locally known as pikoy, is a parrot found throughout the Philippines.
The red-billed spurfowl, also known as the red-billed francolin, is a species of bird in the family Phasianidae. It is found in Southern Africa, including Angola, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Erckel's spurfowl, also known as Erckel's francolin, is a species of game bird in the family Phasianidae.
The eremomelas are a genus, Eremomela, of passerines in the cisticola family Cisticolidae. The genus was previously placed with the larger Old World warbler family Sylviidae prior to that genus being broken up into several families. The genus contains eleven species, all of which are found in sub-Saharan Africa. They occupy a range of habitats, from arid scrub to lowland tropical forest. They are intermediate in appearance between crombecs and apalis, and measure between 8.5 to 12 cm (3.3–4.7 in) in length. The sexes are alike in size and plumage.
The large-billed tern is a species of tern in the family Laridae. It is placed the monotypic genus Phaetusa. It is found in most of South America. It has occurred as a vagrant in Aruba, Bermuda, Cuba, Panama and the United States. Its natural habitats are rivers and freshwater lakes.
Theristicus is a genus of birds in the family Threskiornithidae. They are found in open, grassy habitats in South America. All have a long, decurved dark bill, relatively short reddish legs that do not extend beyond the tail in flight, and at least the back is grey.
The black-faced ibis is a species of bird in the family Threskiornithidae. It is found in grassland and fields in southern and western South America. It has been included as a subspecies of the similar buff-necked ibis, but today all major authorities accept the split. The black-faced ibis also includes the Andean ibis as a subspecies. Some taxonomic authorities still do so.
The claret-breasted fruit dove is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is found in the Moluccas, New Guinea and the Solomon Islands archipelago. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.
The banded yellow robin or olive-yellow robin is a species of bird in the Australasian robin family Petroicidae that is found in New Guinea. It is the only species in the genus Gennaeodryas. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest and subtropical or tropical moist montane forest. It is threatened by habitat loss. It has a high mortality rate due to its inability to traverse across a matrix.
Eos is a genus of parrots belonging to the lories and lorikeets tribe of the family Psittaculidae. There are six species which are all endemic to islands of eastern Indonesia, most within very restricted ranges. They have predominantly red plumage with blue, purple or black markings. Males and females are similar in appearance.
Artamidae is a family of passerine birds found in Australia, the Indo-Pacific region, and Southern Asia. It includes 24 extant species in six genera and three subfamilies: Peltopsinae, Artaminae and Cracticinae. Artamids used to be monotypic, containing only the woodswallows, but it was expanded to include the family Cracticidae in 1994. Some authors, however, still treat the two as separate families. Some species in this family are known for their beautiful song. Their feeding habits vary from nectar sucking (woodswallows) to predation on small birds.
Oreoicidae is a newly recognized family of small insectivorous songbirds from New Guinea and Australia, commonly known as the Australo-Papuan bellbirds. The family contains three genera, each containing a single species: Aleadryas, which contains the rufous-naped bellbird; Ornorectes, which contains the piping bellbird; and Oreoica, which contains the crested bellbird.
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