''Melidectes'' is a genus 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 honeyeater family

Meliphagidae The honeyeaters are a large and diverse family, Meliphagidae, of small to medium-sized birds. The family includes the Australian chats, myzomelas, friarbirds, wattlebirds, miners and melidectes. They are most common in Australia and New Guinea ...

. All six species are

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

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 ...

. The generic name is derived from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

''meli'' for honey and ''dektes'' for beggar or receiver.

Description

They are medium-sized honeyeaters, varied in appearance but possessing a long and sometimes stout

bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

and bare patch around the eye which is quite large and brightly coloured in some species.

Habitat

The genus is overwhelmingly restricted to montane environments. They occupy mountain forest, forest edge, alpine shrubland and shrubby thickets in grasslands. In some instances where two species occupy similar ranges, for example the

Belford's melidectes Belford's melidectes (''Melidectes belfordi''), also known as Belford's honeyeater, is a species of bird in the family Meliphagidae. It is found in New Guinea. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forest. Its common name ...

and the

yellow-browed melidectes The yellow-browed melidectes (''Melidectes rufocrissalis''), also known as the yellow-browed honeyeater, is a species of bird in the family Meliphagidae. It is found mainly in Papua New Guinea. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical mois ...

in the

Schrader Range Schrader Range is a mountain range in central Papua New Guinea. It is a part of the Bismarck Range The Bismarck Range is a mountain range in the Western Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea. The range is named after the German Chancellor, Ot ...

s, the two species exclude each other and occur at different attitudes.

Feeding

The diet of the melidectes is not known for all species, but for those that are known it consists of insects,

nectar Nectar is a sugar-rich liquid produced by plants in glands called nectaries or nectarines, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to animal mutualists ...

, pollen, fruit and berries. The

short-bearded melidectes The short-bearded honeyeater (''Melionyx nouhuysi'') is a species of bird in the honeyeater family Meliphagidae. It is found mainly in West Papua. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. This species was formerly ...

has also been recorded eating seeds. They feed in all levels of the forest, and in shrubs and thickets in more open environments. Some have been recorded feeding on the ground, either on ground plants or picking through the leaf-litter. They usually feed as singles, also foraging in pairs or small groups. Like many honeyeaters they may be aggressive towards other birds, including berrypeckers,

painted berrypecker The painted berrypeckers, Paramythiidae, are a very small bird family restricted to the mountain forests of New Guinea. The family comprises three species in two genera: the tit berrypecker (''Oreocharis arfaki'') in '' Oreocharis'', and the ea ...

s, other honeyeaters and even other members of the genus. One study found that the Belford's melidectes aggressively defended the flowers of the terrestrial root

parasite Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson has ...

'' Mitrastemmaa'' from the ornate melidectes.

Status and conservation

Many of the species of melidectes are restricted range species, occupying small global ranges; in many cases single mountain ranges. The most widespread species, the ornate melidectes, has actually benefited from human activities. That species prefers forest edge, secondary growth and gardens, and has apparently increased in numbers.

Species

The genus contains the following six species: *

Cinnamon-browed melidectes The cinnamon-browed melidectes (''Melidectes ochromelas''), also known as the cinnamon-browed honeyeater, is a species of bird in the family Meliphagidae. It is found in New Guinea. Its natural habitat In ecology, the term habitat summ ...

(''Melidectes ochromelas'') *

Vogelkop melidectes The Vogelkop melidectes (''Melidectes leucostephes'') is a species of bird in the family Meliphagidae. It is endemic to West Papua, Indonesia : northern Doberai and western Bomberai peninsula. Its natural habitat In ecology, the term ...

(''Melidectes leucostephes'') *

Yellow-browed melidectes The yellow-browed melidectes (''Melidectes rufocrissalis''), also known as the yellow-browed honeyeater, is a species of bird in the family Meliphagidae. It is found mainly in Papua New Guinea. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical mois ...

(''Melidectes rufocrissalis'') *

Huon melidectes The Huon melidectes or Huon honeyeater (''Melidectes foersteri'') is a species of bird in the family Meliphagidae. It is endemic to Papua New Guinea. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrou ...

(''Melidectes foersteri'') *

(''Melidectes belfordi'') *

Ornate melidectes The ornate melidectes or ornate honeyeater (''Melidectes torquatus'') is a species of bird in the family Meliphagidae. It is found in the New Guinea Highlands. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forest. References o ...

(''Melidectes torquatus'') Three additional species were moved to the resurrected genus ''

Melionyx ''Melionyx'' is a genus of bird in the family Meliphagidae. These species were formerly placed in the genus ''Melidectes''. They were moved to the resurrected genus ''Melionyx '' based on the results of a molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylo ...

'' based on the results of a

molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

study published in 2019.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q525293 Taxa named by Philip Sclater Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Endemic fauna of New Guinea