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Melampittidae
The melampittas are a family, Melampittidae, of New Guinean birds containing two enigmatic species. The two species are found in two genera, the greater melampitta in the genus ''Megalampitta'' and the lesser melampitta in the genus ''Melampitta''. They are little studied and before being established as a family in 2014 their taxonomic relationships with other birds were uncertain, being considered at one time related variously to the pittas, Old World babblers and birds-of-paradise. These are small to medium-sized birds with black plumage, strong legs and short, rounded wings. Mostly terrestrial, they live in montane forest. The greater melampitta has more specific habitat needs, roosting and nesting in limestone sinkholes. Insects and small vertebrates are taken from the forest leaf litter. Little is known about their breeding behaviour, with only the nests of the lesser melampitta having been seen by scientists. Both species are considered to be safe from extinction. Taxonom ...
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Lesser Melampitta
The lesser melampitta (''Melampitta lugubris'') is a medium-sized enigmatic terrestrial songbird of mountain forests of New Guinea. It is the only species in the genus ''Melampitta''. It is now classified (with the greater melampitta) in the family Melampittidae, but in some other sources it is variously considered close to or in the Orthonychidae (logrunners), Paradisaeidae (birds of paradise), Corcoracidae (Australian mud-nesters), Cnemophilidae (satinbirds) or Monarchidae (monarch flycatchers). A local name, used by the Ketengban people of the Jayawijaya Mountains, is ''golík''. It is approximately 18 cm long and has an all-black plumage with long legs and short tail. Both sexes are almost similar, distinguished by the color of the iris. The male has crimson red iris while the female's are dark brown. The lesser melampitta builds dome-like nest in the forests. The diet consists mainly of insects. Widespread and a common species throughout its habitat range, the lesser ...
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Greater Melampitta
The greater melampitta (''Megalampitta gigantea'') is a species of bird in the family Melampittidae. It is the only species in the genus ''Megalampitta'', although it was once placed in the genus ''Melampitta'' with the lesser melampitta. Formerly classified as a bird-of-paradise, the little-known greater melampitta has an uncertain taxonomy and is sometimes believed to be affiliated to pitohuis, as it appears to be poisonous to eat (Frith and Beehler 1998). It is found in New Guinea. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. References greater melampitta Birds of New Guinea greater melampitta The greater melampitta (''Megalampitta gigantea'') is a species of bird in the family Melampittidae. It is the only species in the genus ''Megalampitta'', although it was once placed in the genus ''Melampitta'' with the lesser melampitta. Former ... Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{passeri-st ...
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Greater Melampitta
The greater melampitta (''Megalampitta gigantea'') is a species of bird in the family Melampittidae. It is the only species in the genus ''Megalampitta'', although it was once placed in the genus ''Melampitta'' with the lesser melampitta. Formerly classified as a bird-of-paradise, the little-known greater melampitta has an uncertain taxonomy and is sometimes believed to be affiliated to pitohuis, as it appears to be poisonous to eat (Frith and Beehler 1998). It is found in New Guinea. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. References greater melampitta Birds of New Guinea greater melampitta The greater melampitta (''Megalampitta gigantea'') is a species of bird in the family Melampittidae. It is the only species in the genus ''Megalampitta'', although it was once placed in the genus ''Melampitta'' with the lesser melampitta. Former ... Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{passeri-st ...
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Lesser Melampitta
The lesser melampitta (''Melampitta lugubris'') is a medium-sized enigmatic terrestrial songbird of mountain forests of New Guinea. It is the only species in the genus ''Melampitta''. It is now classified (with the greater melampitta) in the family Melampittidae, but in some other sources it is variously considered close to or in the Orthonychidae (logrunners), Paradisaeidae (birds of paradise), Corcoracidae (Australian mud-nesters), Cnemophilidae (satinbirds) or Monarchidae (monarch flycatchers). A local name, used by the Ketengban people of the Jayawijaya Mountains, is ''golík''. It is approximately 18 cm long and has an all-black plumage with long legs and short tail. Both sexes are almost similar, distinguished by the color of the iris. The male has crimson red iris while the female's are dark brown. The lesser melampitta builds dome-like nest in the forests. The diet consists mainly of insects. Widespread and a common species throughout its habitat range, the lesser ...
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Oscine
A songbird is a bird belonging to the suborder Passeri of the perching birds (Passeriformes). Another name that is sometimes seen as the scientific or vernacular name is Oscines, from Latin ''oscen'', "songbird". The Passeriformes contains 5000 or so speciesEdwards, Scott V. and John Harshman. 2013. Passeriformes. Perching Birds, Passerine Birds. Version 06 February 2013 (under construction). http://tolweb.org/Passeriformes/15868/2013.02.06 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/ ccessed 2017/12/11 found all over the world, in which the vocal organ typically is developed in such a way as to produce a diverse and elaborate bird song. Songbirds form one of the two major lineages of extant perching birds (~4000 species), the other being the Tyranni (~1000 species), which are most diverse in the Neotropics and absent from many parts of the world. The Tyranni have a simpler syrinx musculature, and while their vocalizations are often just as complex and striking as tho ...
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DNA–DNA Hybridization
In genomics, DNA–DNA hybridization is a molecular biology technique that measures the degree of genetic similarity between pools of DNA sequences. It is usually used to determine the genetic distance between two organisms and has been used extensively in phylogeny and taxonomy. Method The DNA of one organism is labelled, then mixed with the unlabelled DNA to be compared against. The mixture is incubated to allow DNA strands to dissociate and then cooled to form renewed hybrid double-stranded DNA. Hybridized sequences with a high degree of similarity will bind more firmly, and require more energy to separate them: i.e. they separate when heated at a higher temperature than dissimilar sequences, a process known as "DNA melting". To assess the melting profile of the hybridized DNA, the double-stranded DNA is bound to a column and the mixture is heated in small steps. At each step, the column is washed; sequences that melt become single-stranded and wash off the column. The te ...
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Orthonychidae
The logrunners (''Orthonyx'') are a clade of birds which comprises three species of passerine birds endemic to Australia and New Guinea. Some authorities consider the Australian family Cinclosomatidae to be part of the Orthonychidae. The three species use their stiffened tails to brace themselves when feeding. The Australian logrunner, ''Orthonyx temminckii'', is from northeastern New South Wales and southeast Queensland, where it is very local in its distribution, and strictly terrestrial in its habits. The wings are barred with white, and the chin, throat and breast are in the male pure white, but of a bright reddish-orange in the female. The remiges are very short, rounded and much incurved, showing a bird of weak flight. The rectrices are very broad, the shafts stiff, and towards the tip divested of barbs. The population which is found locally in New Guinea is now generally considered a separate species, the Papuan logrunner, ''Orthonyx novaeguineae''. The chowchilla, ''Ort ...
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Ptilorrhoa
The jewel-babblers are the bird genus ''Ptilorrhoa'' in the family Cinclosomatidae. The genus contains four species that are endemic to New Guinea. The genus was once considered to contain the rail-babbler, but that species is now considered to belong to its own family. The genus is closely related to the better known quail-thrushes (''Cinclosoma'') of New Guinea and Australia. Together with a number of other genera they comprise the family Cinclosomatidae, although the validity of this family as a whole has been questioned. The jewel-babblers resemble the quail-thrushes in shape, being plump, long-tailed and short winged. They are adapted to life on the forest floor. The plumage of this genus is the most striking divergence from the quail-thrushes, having large amounts of blue and often with chestnut on the back. The throats of all species are white and the patch is mostly surrounded by a black edge. There is moderate levels of sexual dimorphism in the plumage, except in the dim ...
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Whipbird
Psophodidae is a family of passerine birds native to Australia and nearby areas. It has a complicated taxonomic history and different authors vary in which birds they include in the family. In the strictest sense, it includes only the 5 or 6 species of whipbirds and wedgebills (''Psophodes'' and '' Androphobus''), but some authors also include the quail-thrushes (''Cinclosoma''), 8 species of ground-dwelling birds found in Australia and New Guinea, and the jewel-babblers (''Ptilorrhoa''), 3 or 4 species found in rainforest in New Guinea. Others place them in their own family, the Cinclosomatidae. The Malaysian rail-babbler (''Eupetes macrocerus'') was formerly sometimes placed in this family, which would then be called Eupetidae. Taxonomy The quail-thrushes, jewel-babblers, whipbirds and wedgebills were traditionally included with the logrunners (''Orthonyx'') in the family Orthonychidae.Roberson, Don (2004Quail-thrushes Cinclosomatidae Bird Families of the World. Accessed 4 Jan ...
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Handbook Of The Birds Of The World
The ''Handbook of the Birds of the World'' (HBW) is a multi-volume series produced by the Spanish publishing house Lynx Edicions in partnership with BirdLife International. It is the first handbook to cover every known living species of bird. The series was edited by Josep del Hoyo, Andrew Elliott, Jordi Sargatal and David A. Christie. All 16 volumes have been published. For the first time an animal class will have all the species illustrated and treated in detail in a single work. This has not been done before for any other group in the animal kingdom. Material in each volume is grouped first by family, with an introductory article on each family; this is followed by individual species accounts (taxonomy, subspecies and distribution, descriptive notes, habitat, food and feeding, breeding, movements, status and conservation, bibliography). In addition, all volumes except the first and second contain an essay on a particular ornithological theme. More than 200 renowned speci ...
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Drongo
The drongos are a family, Dicruridae, of passerine birds of the Old World tropics. The 30 species in the family are placed in a single genus, ''Dicrurus''. Drongos are mostly black or dark grey, short-legged birds, with an upright stance when perched. They have forked tails and some have elaborate tail decorations. They feed on insects and small birds, which they catch in flight or on the ground. Some species are accomplished mimics and have a variety of alarm calls, to which other birds and animals often respond. They are known to utter hoax alarm calls that scare other animals off food, which the drongo then claims. Taxonomy The genus ''Dicrurus'' was introduced by French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot for the drongos in 1816. The type species was subsequently designated as the balicassiao (''Dicrurus balicassius'') by English zoologist George Robert Gray in 1841. The name of the genus combines the Ancient Greek words ''dikros'' "forked" and ''oura'' "tail". "Drongo" i ...
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Paradisaeidae
The birds-of-paradise are members of the family Paradisaeidae of the order Passeriformes. The majority of species are found in eastern Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and eastern Australia. The family has 44 species in 17 genera. The members of this family are perhaps best known for the plumage of the males of the species, the majority of which are sexually dimorphic. The males of these species tend to have very long, elaborate feathers extending from the beak, wings, tail or head. For the most part they are confined to dense rainforest habitat. The diet of all species is dominated by fruit and to a lesser extent arthropods. The birds-of-paradise have a variety of breeding systems, ranging from monogamy to lek-type polygamy. A number of species are threatened by hunting and habitat loss. Taxonomy The family Paradisaeidae was introduced (as Paradiseidae) in 1825 with ''Paradisaea'' as the type genus by the English naturalist William John Swainson. For many years the birds-of-paradise ...
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