White-headed

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White-headed
White-headed

White-headed

Systematics
Order : Passerines (Passeriformes)
Subordination : Songbirds (passeri)
Superfamily : Corvoidea
Family : Mohouidae
Genre : Mohoua
Type : White-headed
Scientific name
Mohoua albicilla
( Lesson , 1830)

The white-headed passerine ( Mohoua albicilla ) is a small passerine bird endemic to New Zealand .

description

Comparison of white-headed (above), yellow-headed and mohua

White heads are 15 cm long. The males weigh 18.5 g, the females 14.5 g. The top of the trunk, wings and tail of the male are light brown, the head and underside are white, the head almost pure white - hence the name. Females and young birds are similar in color, but the neck and top of the head are tinted brown. The bill and eyes are black, and the feet and long legs are dark in color.

distribution and habitat

The species is endemic to the North Island of New Zealand and several offshore islands. Among these islands are Little Barrier Island , where it is the most common forest bird, Great Barrier Island and Kapiti Island .

The species, which used to be widespread on the North Island, has experienced a significant decline in the last two centuries and is now limited to a small part of the original range. It was reintroduced to reservations near Auckland and Wellington as part of a conservation campaign . The main reasons for the decline are due to human influences.

Whiteheads live in the few larger areas of old scrub and native forest that have remained on the North Island, but have also proven their adaptability by creating populations of non-native pine forests in New Zealand, particularly on the Volcanic Plateau .

Way of life

White heads move quickly through the treetops, but are more cautious fliers. When threatened, small swarms from several family groups often form.

nutrition

The whitehead feeds mainly on small animals living on trees. These include spiders, butterflies, caterpillars, and beetles that are collected from stumps, leaves, and branches in the canopy and below. The species is rarely found on the forest floor. They supplement their insect diet with fruits from local plants such as Mahoe and Matipo . Like the yellow-headed , they often hang upside down from branches when they eat. White head often form with other species such as Tieke , kakariki and Greymantle Brillenvogel mixed schools to catch up the rummaging of these birds insects.

Reproduction

White heads build a bowl-shaped nest at a height of 1 to 15 m above the ground in tree tops or lower-lying smaller trees and shrubs. Two to four eggs are incubated for about 18 days. The young are fed by both parents and fledged after 16–19 days. In November and December, the long-tailed koel ( Eudynamys taitensis ) often appears as a brood parasite by throwing the eggs out of the nest and laying a single egg in the nest.

Systematics

The white-headed together with the yellow-headed ( M. ochrocephala ) and the brown-headed ( M. novaeseelandiae ) form the endemic songbird genus Mohoua in New Zealand . Since 2013 the genus has been placed in the new monotypical family Mohouidae. The distribution of the white-headed and yellow-headed species are allopatric , although it is disputed whether the yellow-headed species is actually restricted to the South Island .

Etymology and history of research

René Primevère Lesson described the white head as " Moineau a tête blanche " and gave it the scientific name Fringilla albicilla . The type specimen came from the Bay of Islands in New Zealand.

The term »Mohoua« (also Mohua, Mohuahua or Momohua) means »yellow head« in the Māori language , since the generic name was originally introduced for the yellow head . The specific epithet "albicilla" is made up of the Latin words "albus" for "white" and "capillus" for "head hair".

literature

  • Zachary Aidala, Nicola Chong, Michael G. Anderson, Luis Ortiz-Catedral, Ian G. Jamieson, James V. Briskie, Phillip Cassey, Brian J. Gill & Mark E. Hauber: Phylogenetic relationships of the genus Mohoua, endemic hosts of New Zealand's obligate brood parasitic long-tailed cuckoo (Eudynamys taitensis) . In: Journal of Ornithology . tape 154 , no. 4 , 2013, p. 1127-1133 , doi : 10.1007 / s10336-013-0978-8 .
  • James A. Jobling: Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names . Christopher Helm, London 2010, ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4 .
  • René Primevère Lesson : Voyage autour du monde exécuté par Ordre du Roi, sur la Corvette de Sa Majesté, La Coquille pendant les années 1822, 1823, 1824 et 1825 . tape 1 , no. 2 . Arthus-Bertrand, Paris 1830 ( online [accessed December 6, 2013]).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g Barrie Heather and Hugh Robertson, "The Field Guide to the Birds of New Zealand" (revised edition) , Viking 2005
  2. ↑ a b c d R.A Falla, RB Sibson and EG Turbott, "The new guide to the Birds of New Zealand" , Collins, 1979
  3. ↑ a b N. Leuschner Whitehead. 2013. In Miskelly, CM (ed.) New Zealand Birds Online. ( Online )
  4. ^ BJ Bill, Ian G. Maclean: Morphometrics of the whitehead Mohoua albicilla on Little Barrier Island, New Zealand . In: New Zealand Journal of Zoology , 1986, Volume 13: pp. 267-271
  5. ↑ a b Chloe Talbot Kelly, "Collins handguide to the Birds of New Zealand" , Collins, 1982
  6. ^ John Dawson and Rob Lucas, " The Nature Guide to the New Zealand Forest, " Godwit, 2000
  7. ^ FC Kinsky, CJR Robertson, illustrated by Janet Marshall, "Handbook of common birds of New Zealand" , Reed Methuen, 1987
  8. ^ Andrew Crowe, illustrated by David Gunson, "Which New Zealand bird?" , Penguin, 2001
  9. ^ Frank Gill, David Donsker: IOC World Bird List v 3.5 ( Online )
  10. ↑ Zachary Aidala et al. : Phylogenetic relationships of the genus Mohoua, endemic hosts of New Zealand's obligate brood parasitic Long-tailed Cuckoo (Eudynamys taitensis). In: Journal of Ornithology 154.4 (2013): 1127-1133. ( Online )
  11. ↑ René Primevère Lesson, pp. 662f
  12. ↑ James A. Jobling, p. 258
  13. ↑ James A. Jobling, p. 38

Web links

Commons : Mohoua albicilla  - Collection of images, videos and audio files