The New Guinea friarbird (''Philemon buceroides novaeguineae''), also known as the Papuan friarbird, is a

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 Meliphagidae, or

honeyeater The honeyeaters are a large and diverse family (biology), family, Meliphagidae, of small to medium-sized birds. The family includes the Epthianura, Australian chats, myzomelas, friarbirds, wattlebirds, Manorina, miners and melidectes. They are ...

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

. Many taxonomists consider it to be a subspecies of the

helmeted friarbird The helmeted friarbird (''Philemon buceroides'') is part of the ''Honeyeater, Meliphagidae'' family. The helmeted friarbird, along with all their subspecies, is commonly referred to as “leatherhead” by the birding community. Description Th ...

, although some consider it to be a distinct species.

Distribution and habitat

It is found in northern

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and

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' ...

References

* BirdLife International 2004.
Philemon novaeguineae

2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Downloaded on 26 July 2007. New Guinea friarbird Birds of New Guinea New Guinea friarbird Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Meliphagidae-stub