Moluccan Whistler
Pachycephala macrorhyncha
A chunky, heavy-billed songird. Highly variable, with possibly multiple species involved. Male is distinctive, with a black hood, a white throat (bright yellow on Tanimbar), a bright yellow underside, and dull green upperparts with a golden collar. Females are dull, with brown or gray upperparts, a pale throat, and pale buff to yellow underparts. Female differs from Fawn-breasted Whistler in having a larger body and a longer, heavier bill; from female Wallacean Whistler by absence of throat streaking; and from Drab Whistler by yellower underside and browner upperside. Vocalizations variable, with loud whistles sometimes ending in whip-cracking notes, such as “wee-wee-wee-WHIP-CHOO.”
Identification
Among the members of the golden whistler group, the yellow-throated whistler is bordered to the north by the black-chinned whistler, to the west by the rusty-breasted whistler, and to the south by the Australian golden whistler. The only subspecies of the yellow-throated whistler where the male is yellow-throated is fuscoflava from the Tanimbar Islands. Males of other subspecies are white-throated, except par (Romang Island) and compar (Leti Islands) where the plumages of the males are female-like.
Taxonomy
The Yellow-throated whistler was originally described in the genus Myiolestes (a synonym for Colluricincla). The yellow-throated whistler is variably considered as either a subspecies of the Australian golden whistler or treated as a separate species, but strong published evidence in favour of either treatment is limited, and further study is warranted to resolve the complex taxonomic situation. <p>The Baliem whistler, a former subspecies of the yellow-throated whistler, was re-classified as a separate species by the IOC in 2016. Currently, ten subspecies are recognized:
- Scientific name
- Pachycephala macrorhyncha
- Authority
- Strickland, 1849
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Pachycephalidae
- Genus
- Pachycephala
Photos
Distribution
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