Gelbbauch-Flachschnabel

Bestimmung

The yellow-breasted boatbill is a distinctive bird that is small in size and stature ranging from 11 cm to 12.5 cm. On average they weigh around 9-10g. Its black bill is large relative to its body and is wide, long and flat resembling the shape of a boat, hence the bird’s name. The tip of the bird's beak is hooked, similar in shape to other bird species, especially those in the same Machaerirhynchidae family. It also has a distinctive keel which serves to highlight the underside of the yellow-breasted boatbill, which is a distinguishingly bright yellow, leading all the way up the bird's body until its breast. This physical characteristic expectedly pertains to the bird's common name. The underside of the yellow-breasted boatbill's beak area is white, covering the region where its neck would be. The bird has large round eyes with stark black pupils. It also has a yellow stripe running across its forehead in an area akin to eyebrows. The upper top side of the boatbill is black for males, and a lighter olive colour for the females. Aside from that, there are no many other notable differences between the genders. The bird has white stripes across the base of their wings, which are more commonly called wing bars. The yellow-breasted boatbill has a long black tail relative to their small bodies. The end of their tails is rounded, and they are often documented as being stiff, pointing upwards. The yellow-breasted boatbill has average sized legs with small talons at the end of a four toed foot, including the birds rear metatarsals.

Taxonomie

Gattung: Machaerirhynchus; Familie: Machaerirhynchidae; Ordnung: Passeriformes.

Wissenschaftlicher Name

Machaerirhynchus flaviventer

Autorität

Gould, 1851

Ordnung

Passeriformes

Familie

Machaerirhynchidae

Gattung

Machaerirhynchus

Verbreitung und Lebensraum

The yellow-breasted boatbill can be found in the southern hemisphere, living in tropical areas all across New Guinea, but is not endemic to any specific country or island. This species has a very large range and it can also be found at the Cape York Peninsula, Australia, having been documented inhabiting the subtropical and tropical rainforests of North Queensland. Furthermore, it has also been sighted across several western offshore islands throughout the Oceania region. The yellow-breasted boatbill has a wider distribution across the entire island of New Guinea but can be found in higher population densities within North Queensland rainforests. Across all the listed geographical regions, the yellow-breasted boatbill is most commonly found in rainforest areas, where there is a high density of vegetation, typically composed of evergreen trees and shrubbery. Rainforests have elevated annual rainfall levels which promote the growth of plant life in the ecosystem. Rainforests provide suitable living conditions for the yellow-breasted boatbill because the large amounts of vegetation, compounded by the frequency of rainfall, attract large numbers of insects which the bird can prey on. Furthermore, the boatbill prefers to build its nests and live high up in the canopy where it is mostly safe from predators and immediate danger. It leaves the canopy only when it is foraging for food. Similarly, the yellow-breasted boatbill can also be found in gallery forests. Gallery forests boast a high frequency of rivers and ponds, which is beneficial to the boatbill because of the high abundance and diversity of vegetation it promotes. Gallery forests allow for the boatbill to safely build nests within shrubbery near riverbanks, which is also home to ample airborne insects for the bird to prey upon. Aside from rainforests and gallery forests, the yellow-breasted boatbill has also been found to inhabit forest edges and lowland ecosystems for many reasons similar to the ones listed above.

Zugverhalten

Standvogel

Verhalten

Zugverhalten: Standvogel.

Schutzstatus

Bestandstrend: stabil.

Bestandstrend

stabil