Black-chinned robin

Black-chinned robin
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Petroicidae
Genus: Leucophantes
Sclater, PL, 1874
Species:
L. brachyurus
Binomial name
Leucophantes brachyurus
Sclater, PL, 1874

The black-chinned robin (Leucophantes brachyurus) is a species of bird in the Australasian robin family Petroicidae. It is the only species placed in the genus Leucophantes. It is found in northern New Guinea where its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.

Taxonomy

The black-chinned robin was formally described in 1874 by the English zoologist Philip Sclater under the binomial name Leucophantes brachyurus.[2] He specified the type locality as Hatam, Arfak Mountains. This was changed by Ernst Mayr in 1941 to Andai, northwestern New Guinea.[3][4] It was formerly placed in the genus Poecilodryas but has now been returned to the resurrected genus Leucophantes that Sclater had originally introduced for this species.[5][6]

Three subspecies are recognised:[5]

Sibley and Ahlquist's DNA-DNA hybridisation studies placed this group in a Corvida parvorder comprising many tropical and Australian passerines, including pardalotes, fairy-wrens, honeyeaters, and crows.[7] However, subsequent molecular research (and current consensus) places the robins as a very early offshoot of the Passerida (or "advanced" songbirds) within the songbird lineage.[8]

Description

Measuring 14 to 15 cm (5.5–6 in), the black-chinned robin has a dark brown to black head and upperparts, with a prominent white stripe or "eyebrow" above the eye. The chin is black immediately under the bill. Its tail is markedly shorter than other Australasian robins. The throat and underparts are white, and there is a white bar on the otherwise dark-plumaged wing. The bill is black, the eyes are dark brown, and the legs pale brown or pink. Its song is a descending series of notes, which resembles that of the fan-tailed cuckoo.[9]

Distribution and habitat

The black-chinned robin is found predominantly in the lowland forests of northwestern and central New Guinea (mainly in West Papua and only a little in Papua New Guinea's northwest) from sea level to 650 m (2000 ft). Within the rainforest it is found in pairs in the understory or on the ground. It is insectivorous, and hunts by gleaning. It is a weak flyer.[9]

References

  1. ^ BirdLife International (2016). "Poecilodryas brachyura". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22704869A93989385. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22704869A93989385.en. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  2. ^ Sclater, Philip Lutley (1873). "Characters of new species of birds discovered in New Guinea by Signor d'Albertis". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London (published 1874): 690–698 [692, Plate 53].
  3. ^ Mayr, Ernst (1941). List of New Guinea Birds. New York: American Museum of Natural History. p. 142.
  4. ^ Mayr, Ernst; Cottrell, G. William, eds. (1986). Check-list of Birds of the World. Vol. 11. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 575.
  5. ^ a b Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (August 2024). "Australasian robins, rockfowl, rockjumpers, Rail-babbler". IOC World Bird List Version 14.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
  6. ^ Sclater, Philip Lutley (1873). "Characters of new species of birds discovered in New Guinea by Signor d'Albertis". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London (published 1874): 690–698 [691].
  7. ^ Sibley CG, Ahlquist JE (1990). Phylogeny and Classification of Birds: A Study in Molecular Evolution. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. pp. 603, 610–27. ISBN 0-300-04085-7.
  8. ^ Barker, F. Keith; Cibois, Alice; Schikler, Peter A.; Feinstein, Julie & Cracraft, Joel (2004). "Phylogeny and diversification of the largest avian radiation" (PDF). PNAS. 101 (30): 11040–45. Bibcode:2004PNAS..10111040B. doi:10.1073/pnas.0401892101. PMC 503738. PMID 15263073.
  9. ^ a b Coates, Brian J. (1990). The Birds of Papua New Guinea. Volume II. Queensland: Dove Publications. p. 190. ISBN 978-0-9590257-1-2. OCLC 153651608.