Baliem Whistler
Pachycephala balim
A medium-sized bird of montane forest and secondary habitat in the Baliem Valley. Typical male “golden” whistler, with yellow belly, black head and breast band, and a white throat. Female has a brown head and breast band with a scaled throat. Co-occurs with the similar Sclater’s Whistler, but Baliem male has a broad yellow band around the back of the neck, and female has a scaled rather than plain white throat. A jumbled, whistled song containing some notes with an explosive quality.
Taxonomy
The Baliem whistler was formerly considered as a subspecies of the Australian golden whistler and also of the mangrove golden and the yellow-throated whistler. It has since been re-classified as a separate species by the IOC in 2016. Many other authorities do not yet recognize this split and re-classification.
- Scientific name
- Pachycephala balim
- Authority
- Rand, 1940
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Pachycephalidae
- Genus
- Pachycephala
Range and habitat
The Baliem whistler is found in the Snow Mountains of Papua Province in Indonesia.
Photos
Distribution
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