Rag honey eater

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Rag honey eater
Lobed honeyeater (illustration by John Gould (1804-1881))

Lobed honeyeater
(illustration by John Gould (1804-1881))

Systematics
Order : Passerines (Passeriformes)
Subordination : Songbirds (passeri)
Superfamily : Meliphagoidea
Family : Honeyeater (Meliphagidae)
Genre : Macgregoria
Type : Rag honey eater
Scientific name of the  genus
Macgregoria
De Vis , 1897
Scientific name of the  species
Macgregoria pulchra
De Vis, 1897

The lobed honey eater ( Macgregoria pulchra ), also known as the MacGregor honey eater or earlier as the spectacle bird of paradise , is the only species of the monotypical genus Macgregoria and belongs to the honey eater family (Meliphagidae). It occurs exclusively in New Guinea. The species was long attributed to the birds of paradise , but has been included in the honeyeater family since 2000.

The IUCN classifies the rag honeyeater population as endangered ( vulnerable ). There are two subspecies.

features

The lobed honey eater is about the size of a crow: the males reach a body length of up to 40 centimeters, the females are between 33 and 40 centimeters tall. The male's body length is between 12.8 and 14.1 centimeters and the females between 12 and 13.3 centimeters to the tail plumage. The beak is between 3.6 and 4.4 inches long. Males weigh between 242 and 357 grams, females weigh between 190 and 230 grams. Besides the difference in size, there is no noticeable gender dimorphism.

The head and top of the body are soot black. The arm wings, the tips of the hand wings are ocher to cinnamon colored and are visible as a stripe when the wings are folded. The almost circular, glasses-shaped orange lobes around the eyes are particularly striking. He is not feathered. The chin, the throat and the underside of the body are soot-black with a brownish tinge on the belly, rump and under tail-covers. The tail plumage is black-brown on the underside. The beak is glossy black, the iris is red-brown to red, the legs and feet are blue-gray.

Due to its conspicuous facial lobes, the lobed honey eater cannot be confused with any other species.

Distribution of subspecies and habitat

The lobed honey eater occurs only in New Guinea . The two subspecies are native to the southeast and west of New Guinea:

  • Macgregoria pulchra carolinae Junge , 1939, occurs in western and central New Guinea.
  • Macgregoria pulchra pulchra De Vis , 1897 Nominatform is present in southeast New Guinea.

Flap honey eaters live exclusively in mountain forests. Today, regardless of the subspecies, they can only be found in the more inaccessible mountains in the interior of New Guinea. They occur at altitudes between 2700 and 4000 meters above sea level, but are most common at altitudes between 3200 and 3500 meters. The most typical habitats are the interior and the edges of the forest. But they also colonize high valleys, where alpine grasslands are interrupted by small remains of forest. Their occurrence is highly correlated with the proliferation of Dacrycarpus compactus , a coniferous tree from the kind of dacrycarpus ( Dacrycarpus ) in the family of podocarpaceae (Podocarpaceae), which is the dominant tree species in their area of distribution. The seed cones of this tree species play a special role in the honey eater's diet.

Way of life

Flap honeysuckle live solitary, in pairs or after the breeding season in small family groups of three individuals. Mated individuals rest next to each other in branches or in small tree hollows and can often be observed how they care for each other's plumage. The flight is heavy with flat and widely audible wing beats. After every twelve wing beats, there is a short gliding phase during which the wings are spread out. Here, too, the wings produce an instrumental sound that is reminiscent of that of hornbills .

Flap honeydew eaters mainly eat the seed cones of Dacrycarpus compactus . When these are not available, they will eat a wide variety of different fruits. Since it has already been observed that the lobed honey eater examined epiphytes perched on branches like an insect-eating bird, it is possible that insects are also part of its diet.

Reproduction

Flap honeysuckle are monogamous birds that do not defend any territory. Based on the information that is available from a few couples that have been observed more intensively with the help of transmitters for over a week, they each need around 12 hectares of habitat. The area they roam can overlap with that of other conspecifics.

At least in some regions, the breeding season seems to coincide with the maturation of the seed cones of Dacrycarpus compactus . However, young birds have also been observed in times when the seed cones of this warthog had not yet matured. During the courtship season, mated birds chase each other, and these chases usually take place near the nest under construction.

Only three nests had been scientifically described by the end of the 20th century. They were 11 and 15 meters above the ground in the fork of a well-branched tree. The nests are large and cup-shaped. The outside consists predominantly of moss, among other things the already lignified lianas of climbing plants, orchid stems and lichens were built. The inside of the nest is padded with leaves of Phyllocladus hypophyllus and beeches . The only clutch examined contained only one egg. The color of the peel was wine red with light brown and pale purple-gray spots that overlapped each other.

The female breeds alone. The incubation period is not known. According to the current state of knowledge, the nestling is only fledged by the female. The nestling is fed by both parent birds. They feed him with choked up food. Once the nestling has reached the age of 11 to 12 days, it will no longer be flaked. The development of the nestling has so far been little studied. According to the current state of knowledge, however, the development is slow.

Etymology and history of research

Even before Charles Walter De Vis's description, Sir William MacGregor (1847-1919) sent a letter to Enrico Hillyer Giglioli with the request that the bird be named Maria macgregoria in honor of his wife Lady Mary MacGregor. De Vis was also asked to name the bird after Lady MacGregor. He complied with the request and named the new genus Macgregoria . Actually, Giglioli's name would have had preference over De Vis's naming, since Giglioli's publication appeared earlier. However, since the genus name "Maria" had already been assigned by the French entomologist Jacques Marie Frangile Bigot , Macgregoria pulchra prevailed as the scientific name of the species according to the International Rules for Zoological Nomenclature . The word "pulchra" is of Latin origin and is derived from "pulcher" for "beautiful".

literature

  • Bruce M. Beehler , Thane K. Pratt : Birds of New Guinea; Distribution, Taxonomy, and Systematics . Princeton University Press, Princeton 2016, ISBN 978-0-691-16424-3 .
  • Clifford B. Frith, Bruce M. Beehler: The Birds of Paradise - Paradisaeidae . Oxford University Press, Oxford 1998, ISBN 0-19-854853-2 .
  • James A. Jobling: Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names . Christopher Helm, London 2010, ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4 .
  • Charles Walter De Vis: Mr. Sclater exhibited a specimem of a new Paradise bird sent to be figured in 'the Ibis' by Mr. De Vis, and proposed to be named Macgregoria pulchra . In: Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club . tape 6 , 1897, pp. 26 ( biodiversitylibrary.org - a).
  • Charles Walter De Vis: description of a new Bird of Paradise from British New Guinea . In: The Ibis . tape 3 , Series 7, 1897, pp. 250-252 ( biodiversitylibrary.org - b).
  • GCA Young: The Birds of South New Guinea. Part II. Passeres . In: Nova Guinea: a journal of botany, zoology, anthropology, ethnography, geology and palaeontology of the Papuan region . tape 3 , 1939, pp. 1-94 .
  • Enrico Hillyer Giglioli: Viaggio di Sir William MacGregor attraverso la Nuovo Guinea. - Dal nostro socio d'onore prof Enrico H. Giglioli, riceviamo la seguente notizia . In: Bollettino della Società geografica italiana . Series III, volume 10 , 1897, p. 26-27 ( archive.org ).
  • Jacques Marie Frangile Bigot: Dipterorum aliquot novo Genera . In: Revue et magasin de zoologie pure et appliquée . tape 11 , Ser. 2, 1859, p. 305-315 ( biodiversitylibrary.org ).

Web links

Commons : Lappenhonigfresser ( Macgregoria pulchra )  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Handbook of the Birds of the World on the MacGregor Honey Eater , accessed July 6, 2017
  2. ↑ a b Frith & Beehler: The Birds of Paradise - Paradisaeidae . P. 198.
  3. ↑ a b c Frith & Beehler: The Birds of Paradise - Paradisaeidae . P. 200.
  4. ^ IOC World Bird List Version 3.4 (accessed August 1, 2013).
  5. ↑ George Christoffel Alexander Junge, Jr., p. 82.
  6. ^ Charles Walter De Vis (1897a), p. Xvi
  7. ↑ a b Frith & Beehler: The Birds of Paradise - Paradisaeidae . P. 201.
  8. ↑ a b Frith & Beehler: The Birds of Paradise - Paradisaeidae . P. 202.
  9. ↑ a b Frith & Beehler: The Birds of Paradise - Paradisaeidae . P. 203.
  10. ↑ Enrico Hillyer Giglioli, p. 88.
  11. ^ Charles Walter De Vis (1897b), p. 250.
  12. ↑ Jacques Marie Frangile Bigot, p. 311.
  13. ↑ James A. Jobling, p. 324.