Mearnsia
| Mearnsia | ||||||||||
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Philippine Sailor ( Mearnsia picina ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||
| Mearnsia | ||||||||||
| Ridgway , 1911 |
Mearnsia is a small genus of birdsinthe sailor family (Apodidae). The two representatives of the genus are medium-sized sailors with a very shiny plumage. Both species are endemic , the Philippine sailor only occurs on the southeastern islands of the Philippines , the Papuan sailor only on New Guinea .
features
They are medium-sized sailors with a body length of approximately 14 (Philippine sailors) or 11.5 centimeters (Papuan sailors). Both species of the genus have a very shiny plumage, that of the Papuan swift is almost completely black except for the strongly contrasting light throat spot and a white area on the coverts on the underside of the wing. The Philippine sailor is glossy black, only the underside is almost completely white.
In both species the quills of the control feathers protrude as "tail thorns" over the flags, which is typical of the representatives of the Chaeturini tribe . Compared to other species, these thorns are relatively thin and only about a millimeter long, compared to all other species of this tribe.
Systematics
At first the species of this genus were assigned to the genus Chaetura by most authors . However, in 1956 David Lack supported the separation of the Philippine and Papuan sailors into their own genus, and this point of view was verified and accepted by later authors.
The following species are included in the genus:
- Philippine Sailor ( Mearnsia picina )
- Papuan swift ( Mearnsia novaeguineae )
literature
- Phil Chantler, Gerald Driessens: A Guide to the Swifts and Tree Swifts of the World. Pica Press, Mountfield 2000, ISBN 1-873403-83-6
Individual evidence
- ↑ This and all information not specially marked are taken from the following source: A Guide to the Swifts and Tree Swifts of the World . Page 157, see literature
- ↑ Chantler, Driessens: A Guide to the Swifts and Tree Swifts of the World . Page 24, see literature
