Thick-billed Berrypecker
Melanocharis crassirostris
A small, rare bird of mid-montane forest. Male is dark gray above and pale gray below with a slight, pale tuft on the side. Females are dark above with heavy white spotting; also note streaked pale belly and olive-edged flight feathers. Male is similar to female Mid-mountain and Fan-tailed Berrypeckers but is longer-billed and shorter-tailed. Female is similar to Mottled Berryhunter but is much smaller. Call is a thin, high-pitch “tsiip.”
Identification
The thick-billed berrypecker (Melanocharis crassirostris) is a species of bird in the berrypecker and longbill family Melanocharitidae. It is found in New Guinea. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forest. The spotted berrypecker (Rhamphocharis piperata) was formerly considered conspecific (with both species being grouped under the common name "spotted berrypecker" but with the scientific name R. crassirostris), but it was split as a distinct species by the IOC in 2021.
Taxonomy
Genus: Melanocharis; Family: Melanocharitidae; Order: Passeriformes.
- Scientific name
- Melanocharis crassirostris
- Authority
- Salvadori, 1876
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Melanocharitidae
- Genus
- Melanocharis
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
- Population trend
- unknown
Photos
Distribution
Other Birds
Spot-fronted Swift
Cypseloides cherriei
Little-known swift found mostly in mountainous areas, though flocks occasionally venture into lowlands. All dark with short square tail and angular wings. Namesake white spots on forehead and behind eyes are distinctive, but these can be extremely difficult to see. Many swifts are best left unidentified. Sex and age variation not well known; some birds, maybe juveniles, can show whitish scaling on belly. Occasionally seen singly or mixed with flocks of other swifts, but most often in monotypic flocks of up to several dozen individuals. Voice can be helpful with practice; typically a staccato chatter followed by “pew pew pew” notes like a laser gun.
Senegal Thick-knee
Burhinus senegalensis
Very large shorebird that is similar to Eurasian and Water Thick-knees, but with a longer and heavier bill. Also note the gray mid-wing panel without a black-and-white upper border. Immature Eurasian Thick-knees can also have a simpler wing pattern similar to Senegal, and identification of those birds best determined by structure and habitat. More connected to aquatic habitats than Eurasian Thick-knee, but not as much as Water Thick-Knee. Noisy, especially at night, producing a variety of loud whistles and trills.
Papuan Nightjar
Eurostopodus papuensis
A widespread nightjar of lowland forest and edge. Distinctive white chevron in the throat. Forages on the wing for insects over forest, in gaps and along rivers. Unlike Large-tailed Nightjar, Papuan Nightjar has no white marks in the wing or the tail. Similar to the migrant White-throated Nightjar but Papuan Nightjar is smaller in size. Call, a series of ascending, accelerating “whip” notes ending in a rather frantic “whipit-wipit-wipit!
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