The friarbirds, also called leatherheads, are about 15 species of relatively large

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 ...

s in the genus ''Philemon''. Additionally, the single member of the genus ''Melitograis'' is called the white-streaked friarbird. Friarbirds are found in

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 ...

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

, eastern

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

, and

New Caledonia ) , anthem = "" , image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of New Caledonia , map_caption = Location of New Caledonia , mapsize = 290px , subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...

. They eat

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 ...

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...

s and other

invertebrate Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...

s, flowers, fruit, and seeds. The friarbirds generally have drab

plumage Plumage ( "feather") is a layer of feathers that covers a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage differ between species and subspecies and may vary with age classes. Within species, ...

. They derive their name from the circular pattern at the crown of their heads and their neutral coloring, which makes them resemble

friar A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century; the term distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the ol ...

s. In many instances, their plumage is mimicked by smaller orioles, which use the aggressive nature of the friarbirds to avoid aggression themselves.

Species

The genus ''Philemon'' contains the following extant species: * Meyer's friarbird (''Philemon meyeri'') * Brass's friarbird (''Philemon brassi'') * Little friarbird (''Philemon citreogularis'') * Grey friarbird (''Philemon kisserensis'') *

Timor friarbird The Timor friarbird or plain friarbird (''Philemon inornatus'') is a species of bird in the family Meliphagidae. It is found on Timor island. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forest A forest is an area of land dominated b ...

(''Philemon inornatus'') * Morotai friarbird (''Philemon fuscicapillus'') * Seram friarbird (''Philemon subcorniculatus'') * Buru friarbird (''Philemon moluccensis'') * Tanimbar friarbird (''Philemon plumigenis'') *

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 ...

(''Philemon buceroides'') * New Guinea friarbird (''Philemon novaeguineae'') * New Britain friarbird (''Philemon cockerelli'') * New Ireland friarbird (''Philemon eichhorni'') *

Manus friarbird The Manus friarbird (''Philemon albitorques'') or white-naped friarbird, also known as the ''chauka'' ('souka' in Lele, the local language) is a species of bird in the Honeyeater family, or Meliphagidae. It is endemic to the Manus Province of P ...

(''Philemon albitorques'') * Silver-crowned friarbird (''Philemon argenticeps'') *

Noisy friarbird The noisy friarbird (''Philemon corniculatus'') is a passerine bird of the honeyeater family Meliphagidae native to southern New Guinea and eastern Australia. It is one of several species known as friarbirds whose heads are bare of feathers. It ...

(''Philemon corniculatus'') *

New Caledonian friarbird The New Caledonian friarbird (''Philemon diemenensis'') is a species of bird in the family Meliphagidae. It is endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, ...

(''Philemon diemenensis'') Formerly, some authorities also considered the

black-eared oriole The black-eared oriole (''Oriolus bouroensis''), or Buru oriole, is a species of bird in the family Oriolidae. It is native to Buru island. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical or tropical mangrov ...

(as ''Philedon bouroensis'') a species within the genus ''Philemon''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1061547 Taxa named by Louis Jean Pierre Vieillot