The broad-billed fairywren (''Chenorhamphus grayi'') is a species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

in the

Australasian wren The Australasian wrens are a family, Maluridae, of small, insectivorous passerine birds endemic to Australia and New Guinea. While commonly known as wrens, they are unrelated to the true wrens. The family comprises 32 species (including sixteen ...

family, Maluridae. It is found in northern and north-western

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

. Its natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

is subtropical or tropical moist lowland

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

Taxonomy and systematics

The broad-billed fairywren was originally described in the obsolete genus '' Todopsis''. It was formerly lumped together with Campbell's fairywren in the genus ''

Malurus ''Malurus'' is a genus of bird in the Australasian wren family, Maluridae. Taxonomy and systematics Extant species The following table reports the English names proposed for the twelve species recognised by the listing of the International Or ...

'' until a 2011 analysis of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA showed high divergence between the two subspecies resulting in them being re-split into separate species. The study also found them to lie in a clade with the genera '' Sipodotus'' and ''

Clytomyias The orange-crowned fairywren (''Clytomyias insignis'') is a species of passerine bird in the Australasian wren family, Maluridae. It is monotypic within the genus ''Clytomyias''. It is found on New Guinea in its natural habitat of subtropical or ...

'' leading to their subsequent re-classification in their own genus, ''Chenorhamphus''. Alternate names for the broad-billed fairywren include broad-billed wren and broad-billed wren-warbler.

Behaviour and ecology

Diet

Little is known about the diet of the broad-billed fairywren, although it is thought to be insectivorous. Like other New Guinean fairywrens, the species forages on the ground and in dense undergrowth, especially around exposed tree roots. Feeding is done in the lower forest, up to 5 m.

Breeding

Males with enlarged

testicles A testicle or testis (plural testes) is the male reproductive gland or gonad in all bilaterians, including humans. It is homologous to the female ovary. The functions of the testes are to produce both sperm and androgens, primarily testostero ...

have been collected in July. Fledglings have also been found in February. The only known nest was at a height of in primary forest in a wide

ridge A ridge or a mountain ridge is a geographical feature consisting of a chain of mountains or hills that form a continuous elevated crest for an extended distance. The sides of the ridge slope away from the narrow top on either side. The line ...

. It was a cavity in moss that covered a sapling's trunk, and was deep and wide. It was lined with dry needles, along with strips of bark, and contained two chicks in October.

References

broad-billed fairywren Birds of New Guinea broad-billed fairywren Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Maluridae-stub