The Makawa bearded bird ( Pogoniulus makawai ) is described as a species from the African bearded bird family and is assigned to the dwarf bearded within this species . However, the description of the species is based on the finding of a single male that was captured on September 6, 1964 near the Mayau River in northwestern Zambia. The ornithologists Lester L. Short and Jennifer Horne doubt whether the species status here is justified and consider the possibility that it is a very differently colored individual of the yellow-tufted dwarf beardling . The discoloration of the plumage compared to that of the yellow tufted dwarf beardling is large, however, because the underside of the body from the chest to the belly was white with fine black horizontal stripes. The white over-eye stripe typical of yellow-tufted dwarf beards was missing . There was only a strip below the eye, which did not continue to the base of the beak. The chin was black, the rump yellow and not gold-colored like the yellow-tufted dwarf beardling. The beak was stronger and the upper beak more curved than that of the yellow-tufted dwarf beardling. The wing length was 4.6 centimeters, the tail was 3.2 and the beak 1.3 centimeters. Lester Short and Jennifer Horne also point out that there is no simple explanation for this different body color. Melanism would explain some of the characteristics of the Makawa bearded bird, but not the lack of yellows and grays on the underside of the body and the more strongly developed beak. Comparable specimens were not found in the find area, although there have been several searches for this species.
supporting documents
literature
Lester L. Short, Jennifer FM Horne: Toucans, Barbets and Honeyguides - Ramphastidae, Capitonidae and Indicatoridae. Oxford University Press, Oxford 2001, ISBN 0-19-854666-1 .
