Sericornis, Acanthizidae)

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Sericornis, Acanthizidae) GENETIC AND MORPHOLOGICAL DIFFERENTIATION AND PHYLOGENY IN THE AUSTRALO-PAPUAN SCRUBWRENS (SERICORNIS, ACANTHIZIDAE) LESLIE CHRISTIDIS,1'2 RICHARD $CHODDE,l AND PETER R. BAVERSTOCK 3 •Divisionof Wildlifeand Ecology, CSIRO, P.O. Box84, Lyneham,Australian Capital Territory 2605, Australia, 2Departmentof EvolutionaryBiology, Research School of BiologicalSciences, AustralianNational University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2601, Australia, and 3EvolutionaryBiology Unit, SouthAustralian Museum, North Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia 5000, Australia ASS•CRACr.--Theinterrelationships of 13 of the 14 speciescurrently recognized in the Australo-Papuan oscinine scrubwrens, Sericornis,were assessedby protein electrophoresis, screening44 presumptivelo.ci. Consensus among analysesindicated that Sericorniscomprises two primary lineagesof hithertounassociated species: S. beccarii with S.magnirostris, S.nouhuysi and the S. perspicillatusgroup; and S. papuensisand S. keriwith S. spiloderaand the S. frontalis group. Both lineages are shared by Australia and New Guinea. Patternsof latitudinal and altitudinal allopatry and sequencesof introgressiveintergradation are concordantwith these groupings,but many featuresof external morphologyare not. Apparent homologiesin face, wing and tail markings, used formerly as the principal criteria for grouping species,are particularly at variance and are interpreted either as coinherited ancestraltraits or homo- plasies. Distribution patternssuggest that both primary lineageswere first split vicariantly between Australia and New Guinea, and then radiated independently on each land massunder the influence of paleoclimaticchange. Dispersal between Australia and New Guinea is indicated only in the magnirostrissublineage and is either very recent or just broken. Received13 April 1987, accepted18 April 1988. WItH thornbills (Acanthiza) and gerygones Although this reorganization was controver- (Gerygone),scrubwrens of the genus Sericornis sial, it has not been subjectedto testing other Gould form one of three major assemblagesof than by brief and conflicting comparisonsof species within the Australo-Papuan family morphological and behavioral traits (Keast Acanthizidae. In its strictest sense (RAOU 1978a, b; Schodde 1981). Checklist Committee 1926; Mayr 1986), the We studied the relationships among the group comprisessmall, brown, thin-billed in- speciesof Sericornissensu Mayr (1986) as deter- sectivoresthat live sedentarilyin pairs or small mined by allozymicvariation at 44 presumptive communal groups in the middle- and under- loci. The monophyly of this group, corrobo- strata of subtropical and temperate forests in rated by DNA-DNA hybridization (Sibley and montane New Guinea and coastal Australia Ahlquist 1985), is not in question.Material of (Figs. 1 and 2). all but one specieswas examined, but we pre- General agreement on the compositionand sentdata for only 11of the 14.Of the 3 excluded relationships of Sericorniswas reached in the or missing,the TasmanJanScrubtit (S. magnus) revisionsof Mayr (1937),Mayr and Rand (1937), was found to be unrelated to the core lineages Mayr and Serventy (1938), and Keast (1978a). of Sericornis(Christidis and Schodde in prep.); Their conceptsof the genus were maintained the Spotted Scrubwren (S. maculatus)is not ac- in essenceby Mayr (1986), who accepted 14 cepted here as a speciesbecause it intergrades species.Six are endemic to New Guinea, seven with the White-browed Scrubwren(S. frontalis; endemic to Australia and one (S. beccarii) is cf. Condon 1951) and shows no significant al- shared(Figs. 1 and 2). Schodde(1975) expanded lozymic differentiation from it (Christidisand Sericornisto include 5 allied mono- and di-typic Schoddein press);and tissuesof the Vogelkop generic groups from drier sclerophylloushab- Scrubwren (Sericornisrufescens) were unavail- itats in Australia (cf. Schodde and McKean 1976). able. 616 The Auk 105: 616-629. October 1988 October1988] BiochemicalSystematics ofScrubwrens 617 Fig. 1. Geographicaldistribution of taxa of the Sericornismagnirostris primary lineage. Fig. 2. Geographicaldistribution of taxa of the METHODS Sericornisfrontalis primary lineage. Liver, breast muscle and heart tissues, stored in liquid nitrogen,were examinedfrom 127individuals sideredclosest to coresericornine lineages (Meise 1931, of 11 species,together with thoseof 6 geographically Mayr 1937),but falls outsidethe sericornineassem- spreadindividuals of the BrownThornbill (Acanthiza blage.In-group comparisonswere also made within pusilia).Geographically isolated subspeciesof the the sericornineassemblage of Schodde(1975), but Large-billed Scrubwren (S. m. magnirostris,S. m. viri- becausethey did not affect the monophyly of Seri- dior) and Yellow-throated Scrubwren (S.c. citreogu- cornisas defined here, they are reported elsewhere laris,S.c. cairnsi)were included to provide a frame for (Christidisand Schoddein prep.). differentiation across all taxonomic levels. The sam- Morphometricand qualitativemorphological data plesand their collectionlocalities are itemized in Ta- for comparisonwere collated from specimensin the ble 1. Australian National Wildlife Collection, Canberra Individuals were screened electrophoretically for (ANWC), augmentedwith material from the Queens- 37 enzymesystems representing 44 presumptiveloci land Museum, Brisbane (QM), Australian Museum, (Christidisand Schoddein press).Initially, represen- Sydney(AM), and, for S.rufescens, American Museum tatives of 5 diverseacanthizid genera, including Ser- of Natural History, New York (AMNH). Information icornis,were analyzed to determine optimal condi- on altitudinal distribution in New Guinea was drawn tions for each enzyme system. It allowed us to from specimenrecords in ANWC and AM, and from maximize resolution of the allelic bands and so detect banding records in the Australian Bird Banding most of the variation in our subsequentscreening of Scheme, Australian National Parks and Wildlife Ser- Sericornis. Genetic distances between taxa were esti- vice, Canberra. matedby the measuresof Nei (1978)and Rogers(1972), from which UPGMA phenograms(Sneath and Sokal RESULTS 1973) and distance-Wagnertrees (Farris 1972) were constructed.A further analysis of fixed (nonpoly- Allelic frequencies,heterozygosities, and genetic morphic) differencesamong electromorphswas per- distances.--Of the 44 loci screened, 12 were formed by the cladisticmethod of Hennig (1966). monomorphic in all species(E.C. numbers in Highly polymorphicloci and low frequencyallelo- parentheses):Got-2 (2.6.1.1), Idh-2 (1.1.1.42),Tpi morphsshared across lineages were culled, to reduce (5.3.1.1), Sod(1.15.1.1), Fum (4.2.1.2), Ak (2.7.4.3), confusion from unclarified plesiomorphic statesand Ck-3(2.7.3.2), Gdh (1.4.1.3), Gpt-2 (2.6.12), Acon-1 convergence(cf. Pattonand Avise 1983).Accordingly (4.2.1.3), Mdh- 1 and Mdh-2 (1.1.1.37). A1lelic fre- Gpdh,Est-1, Est-3, and the low frequencyallelomorphs quenciesat the other 32 varying loci are given at PepL-Pro and Acon-2were excluded.The rationale and modes of these procedureswere outlined in in Table 2, excluding those of 5% or less. For Christidis (1987). the species of Sericornis,mean heterozygosity Acanthizapusilia was usedto root the Wagner tree calculatedby the directcount estimate (Nei 1975) and asthe out-groupfor cladisticanalysis (Patton and was 0.035, and the averageproportion of poly- Avise 1983) becauseit is a member of the genuscon- morphicloci 18.4%(Table 2). The mean genetic 618 CHRISTIDIS,SCHODDE, AND BAVERSTOCK [Auk,Vol. 105 TABLEi. Localitiesand samplesizes (n) of speciesexamined. Voucher specimensin AustralianNational Wildlife Collection,CSIRO, Canberra;and in AustralianMuseum, Sydney. Symbola Locality n Sericornisperspicillatus SPE Efogi, Papua New Guinea 13 S. arfakianus SAR Kaftmui and Taft, Papua New Guinea 4 S. magnirostrismagnirostris SMA KangarooValley, New South Wales 2 Cambridge Plateau, New South Wales 6 Conondale Range,Queensland 3 Dawes Range,Queensland 1 Clarke Range,Queensland 2 S. m. viridior SMV Atherton, Queensland 4 Helenvale district, Queensland 1 S. beccarii SBE Silver Plains, Cape York Peninsula, Queensland 3 McIlwraith Range, Queensland 6 Tari district, Papua New Guinea 3 S. nouhuysi SNO Efogi, Papua New Guinea i0 S. papuensis SPA Efogi, Papua New Guinea 3 S. spilodera SSP Tari district, Papua New Guinea 2 S. citreogulariscitreogularis SCI KangarooValley, New South Wales 2 CambridgePlateau, New South Wales 6 Conondale Range, Queensland 3 S.c. cairnsi SCC Atherton, Queensland 6 S. keri SKE Atherton, Queensland 2 Mt. Lewis, Queensland 4 S. humills SHU Tasmania b 6 S. frontalis SFR South-eastern Australia b 28 Acanthizapusilla APU Eastern Australia, Tasmania 6 Symbolsused in Figs. 4 and 5. A completelisting of localitiesis given in Christidisand Schodde(in press). distance (Nei 1978) among all 11 specieswas Geneticdifferentiation.--The UPGMA pheno- 0.197 (SD 0.068, SE 0.001); and that between grams derived from both Rogers' (1972) and them and Acanthizapusilla was 0.345 (SD 0.054, Nei's (1978) distanceswere identical and sep- SE0.005), indicating substantial differentiation. arate Sericornisinto 5 groups of species,all of In comparison,the averageinterspecific and in- which are closer to one another than to Acan- tergenericdistances in Parulidae, Emberizidae, thiza pusilla(Fig. 3). The first group comprises Muscicapidaeand Icteridae were 0.10 and 0.26 the Pale-billedScrubwren (S. spilodera) and Pap- respectively(Avise and Aquadro 1982). uan Scrubwren (S. papuensis),between
Recommended publications
  • The Avifauna of Mt. Karimui, Chimbu Province, Papua New Guinea, Including Evidence for Long-Term Population Dynamics in Undisturbed Tropical Forest
    Ben Freeman & Alexandra M. Class Freeman 30 Bull. B.O.C. 2014 134(1) The avifauna of Mt. Karimui, Chimbu Province, Papua New Guinea, including evidence for long-term population dynamics in undisturbed tropical forest Ben Freeman & Alexandra M. Class Freeman Received 27 July 2013 Summary.—We conducted ornithological feld work on Mt. Karimui and in the surrounding lowlands in 2011–12, a site frst surveyed for birds by J. Diamond in 1965. We report range extensions, elevational records and notes on poorly known species observed during our work. We also present a list with elevational distributions for the 271 species recorded in the Karimui region. Finally, we detail possible changes in species abundance and distribution that have occurred between Diamond’s feld work and our own. Most prominently, we suggest that Bicolored Mouse-warbler Crateroscelis nigrorufa might recently have colonised Mt. Karimui’s north-western ridge, a rare example of distributional change in an avian population inhabiting intact tropical forests. The island of New Guinea harbours a diverse, largely endemic avifauna (Beehler et al. 1986). However, ornithological studies are hampered by difculties of access, safety and cost. Consequently, many of its endemic birds remain poorly known, and feld workers continue to describe new taxa (Prat 2000, Beehler et al. 2007), report large range extensions (Freeman et al. 2013) and elucidate natural history (Dumbacher et al. 1992). Of necessity, avifaunal studies are usually based on short-term feld work. As a result, population dynamics are poorly known and limited to comparisons of diferent surveys or diferences noticeable over short timescales (Diamond 1971, Mack & Wright 1996).
    [Show full text]
  • A Global Overview of Protected Areas on the World Heritage List of Particular Importance for Biodiversity
    A GLOBAL OVERVIEW OF PROTECTED AREAS ON THE WORLD HERITAGE LIST OF PARTICULAR IMPORTANCE FOR BIODIVERSITY A contribution to the Global Theme Study of World Heritage Natural Sites Text and Tables compiled by Gemma Smith and Janina Jakubowska Maps compiled by Ian May UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre Cambridge, UK November 2000 Disclaimer: The contents of this report and associated maps do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of UNEP-WCMC or contributory organisations. The designations employed and the presentations do not imply the expressions of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UNEP-WCMC or contributory organisations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or its authority, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY INTRODUCTION 1.0 OVERVIEW......................................................................................................................................................1 2.0 ISSUES TO CONSIDER....................................................................................................................................1 3.0 WHAT IS BIODIVERSITY?..............................................................................................................................2 4.0 ASSESSMENT METHODOLOGY......................................................................................................................3 5.0 CURRENT WORLD HERITAGE SITES............................................................................................................4
    [Show full text]
  • Printable PDF Format
    Field Guides Tour Report Australia Part 2 2019 Oct 22, 2019 to Nov 11, 2019 John Coons & Doug Gochfeld For our tour description, itinerary, past triplists, dates, fees, and more, please VISIT OUR TOUR PAGE. Water is a precious resource in the Australian deserts, so watering holes like this one near Georgetown are incredible places for concentrating wildlife. Two of our most bird diverse excursions were on our mornings in this region. Photo by guide Doug Gochfeld. Australia. A voyage to the land of Oz is guaranteed to be filled with novelty and wonder, regardless of whether we’ve been to the country previously. This was true for our group this year, with everyone coming away awed and excited by any number of a litany of great experiences, whether they had already been in the country for three weeks or were beginning their Aussie journey in Darwin. Given the far-flung locales we visit, this itinerary often provides the full spectrum of weather, and this year that was true to the extreme. The drought which had gripped much of Australia for months on end was still in full effect upon our arrival at Darwin in the steamy Top End, and Georgetown was equally hot, though about as dry as Darwin was humid. The warmth persisted along the Queensland coast in Cairns, while weather on the Atherton Tablelands and at Lamington National Park was mild and quite pleasant, a prelude to the pendulum swinging the other way. During our final hours below O’Reilly’s, a system came through bringing with it strong winds (and a brush fire warning that unfortunately turned out all too prescient).
    [Show full text]
  • Breeding Biology and Behaviour of the Scarlet
    Corella, 2006, 30(3/4):5945 BREEDINGBIOLOGY AND BEHAVIOUROF THE SCARLETROBIN Petroicamulticolor AND EASTERNYELLOW ROBIN Eopsaltriaaustralis IN REMNANTWOODLAND NEAR ARMIDALE, NEW SOUTH WALES S.J. S.DEBUS Division of Zoology, University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales 2351 E-mail: [email protected] Received:I3 January 2006 The breeding biology and behaviour of the Scarlet Robin Petroica multicolor and Eastern Yellow Robin Eopsaltria australis were studied at lmbota Nature Reserve, on the New England Tableland of New South Wales,in 200G-2002by colour-bandingand nest-monitoring.Yellow Robins nested low in shelteredpositions, in plants with small stem diameters(mostly saplings,live trees and shrubs),whereas Scarlet Robins nested high in exposed positions, in plants with large stem diameters (mostly live trees, dead branches or dead trees).Yellow Robin clutch size was two or three eggs (mean 2.2; n = 19). Incubationand nestling periods were 15-17 days and 11-12 days respectively(n = 6) for the Yellow Robin, and 16-18 days (n = 3) and 16 days (n = 1) respectivelyfor the ScarletRobin. Both specieswere multi-brooded,although only YellowRobins successfully raised a second brood. The post-fledging dependence period lasted eight weeks for Yellow Robins, and six weeks for Scarlet Robins. The two robins appear to differ in their susceptibilityto nest predation, with corresponding differences in anti-predator strategies. INTRODUCTION provides empirical data on aspects that may vary geographicallywith seasonalconditions, or with habitator The
    [Show full text]
  • Social Behaviour and Breeding Biology of the Yeliow-Rumped Thornbill
    Social Behaviour and Breeding Biology of the Yeliow-Rumped Thornbill Daniel Ebert A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of hilosophy of The Australian National University April 2004 Declaration The research presented in this thesis is my own original work and no part has been submitted for a previous degree. Signed Daniel Ebert April 2004 Dedication In memory of Anjeli Catherine Nathan 18 March 1975 - 3 November 1999 Acknowledgements This thesis was a work in progress, or not, for some years and many people made significant contributions of supervision, assistance or support. My supervisor, Rob Magrath, and Andrew Cockburn and David Green were instrumental in promoting thombill research as a worthwhile pursuit. I thank them for their contributions to the formulation of this project and their interest in my work. Rob Magrath’s particular combination of insight, knowledge and patience was invaluable throughout this study. I am also grateful for the general advice and guidance of Rob Heinsohn and Sarah Legge. This project involved many early morning mist-netting sessions which would have been even more “miss” than “hit” without the enthusiastic assistance of numerous volunteers. David Green, Mike Double, James Nicholls, Sarah Legge, Anjeli Nathan, Janet Gardner, Nie MacGregor, Rob Heinsohn, Rob Magrath, Andrew Cockburn and Peter Marsack all cheerfully participated in the usually unrewarding exercise of netting thombills in the mist and cold. I’m especially grateful to Steve Murphy for his competence and enthusiasm in the field and his impressive ability to find thombill nests after half an hour of “training”. Minisatellite DNA fingerprinting is an error-prone and frustrating procedure usually requiring good fortune as well as good management for success.
    [Show full text]
  • Australia ‐ Part Two 2016 (With Tasmania Extension to Nov 7)
    Field Guides Tour Report Australia ‐ Part Two 2016 (with Tasmania extension to Nov 7) Oct 18, 2016 to Nov 2, 2016 Chris Benesh & Cory Gregory For our tour description, itinerary, past triplists, dates, fees, and more, please VISIT OUR TOUR PAGE. The sunset over Cumberland Dam near Georgetown was especially vibrant. Photo by guide Cory Gregory. The country of Australia is a vast one, with a wide range of geography, flora, and fauna. This tour, ranging from the Top End over to Queensland (with some participants continuing on to Tasmania), sampled a diverse set of regions and an impressively wide range of birds. Whether it was the colorful selection of honeyeaters, the variety of parrots, the many rainforest specialties, or even the diverse set of world-class mammals, we covered a lot of ground and saw a wealth of birds. We began in the tropical north, in hot and humid Darwin, where Torresian Imperial-Pigeons flew through town, Black Kites soared overhead, and we had our first run-ins with Magpie-Larks. We ventured away from Darwin to bird Fogg Dam, where we enjoyed Large-tailed Nightjar in the predawn hours, majestic Black-necked Storks in the fields nearby, and even a Rainbow Pitta and Rose-crowned Fruit-Dove in the nearby forest! We also visited areas like Darwin River Dam, where some rare Black-tailed Treecreepers put on a show and Northern Rosellas flew around us. We can’t forget additional spots near Darwin, like East Point, Buffalo Creek, and Lee Point, where we gazed out on the mudflats and saw a variety of coast specialists, including Beach Thick-knee and Gull-billed Tern.
    [Show full text]
  • Birds: Indicators of Environmental Repair in Oil Affected Coastlines
    This may be the author’s version of a work that was submitted/accepted for publication in the following source: Wells, Dezmond (2010) Birds : indicators of environmental repair in oil affected coastlines. (Unpublished) This file was downloaded from: https://eprints.qut.edu.au/59524/ c Copyright 2010 Dezmond Wells This work is covered by copyright. Unless the document is being made available under a Creative Commons Licence, you must assume that re-use is limited to personal use and that permission from the copyright owner must be obtained for all other uses. If the docu- ment is available under a Creative Commons License (or other specified license) then refer to the Licence for details of permitted re-use. It is a condition of access that users recog- nise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. If you believe that this work infringes copyright please provide details by email to [email protected] Notice: Please note that this document may not be the Version of Record (i.e. published version) of the work. Author manuscript versions (as Sub- mitted for peer review or as Accepted for publication after peer review) can be identified by an absence of publisher branding and/or typeset appear- ance. If there is any doubt, please refer to the published source. Birds - Indicators of Environmental Repair in Oil Affected Coastlines 1 Birds - Indicators of Environmental Repair in Oil Affected Coastlines Dezmond. R. Wells (GradDipEd , BSc, , AssDipAppSc)A ABirds Australia Southern Queensland, 32 Panoramic Dr, Narangba, QLD 4504, Australia. Email: [email protected] Abstract Bird coastal communities were studied along Bribie Island and Moreton Island, two islands within Moreton Bay, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, using the point counts method.
    [Show full text]
  • Grand Australia Part Ii: Queensland, Victoria & Plains-Wanderer
    GRAND AUSTRALIA PART II: QUEENSLAND, VICTORIA & PLAINS-WANDERER OCTOBER 15–NOVEMBER 1, 2018 Southern Cassowary LEADER: DION HOBCROFT LIST COMPILED BY: DION HOBCROFT VICTOR EMANUEL NATURE TOURS, INC. 2525 WALLINGWOOD DRIVE, SUITE 1003 AUSTIN, TEXAS 78746 WWW.VENTBIRD.COM GRAND AUSTRALIA PART II By Dion Hobcroft Few birds are as brilliant (in an opposite complementary fashion) as a male Australian King-parrot. On Part II of our Grand Australia tour, we were joined by six new participants. We had a magnificent start finding a handsome male Koala in near record time, and he posed well for us. With friend Duncan in the “monster bus” named “Vince,” we birded through the Kerry Valley and the country towns of Beaudesert and Canungra. Visiting several sites, we soon racked up a bird list of some 90 species with highlights including two Black-necked Storks, a Swamp Harrier, a Comb-crested Jacana male attending recently fledged chicks, a single Latham’s Snipe, colorful Scaly-breasted Lorikeets and Pale-headed Rosellas, a pair of obliging Speckled Warblers, beautiful Scarlet Myzomela and much more. It had been raining heavily at O’Reilly’s for nearly a fortnight, and our arrival was exquisitely timed for a break in the gloom as blue sky started to dominate. Pretty-faced Wallaby was a good marsupial, and at lunch we were joined by a spectacular male Eastern Water Dragon. Before breakfast we wandered along the trail system adjacent to the lodge and were joined by many new birds providing unbelievable close views and photographic chances. Wonga Pigeon and Bassian Thrush were two immediate good sightings followed closely by Albert’s Lyrebird, female Paradise Riflebird, Green Catbird, Regent Bowerbird, Australian Logrunner, three species of scrubwren, and a male Rose Robin amongst others.
    [Show full text]
  • Family Scientific Name Common Name Acanthizidae Gerygone
    Family Scientific Name Common Name Gerygone olivacea White-throated Gerygone Acanthizidae Smicrornis brevirostris Weebill Acariformes Acarina sp Accipiter cirrocephalus Collared Sparrowhawk Accipiter fasciatus Brown Goshawk Aquila audax Wedge-tailed Eagle Circus assimilis Spotted Harrier Accipitridae Haliastur sphenurus Whistling Kite Hamirostra isura Square-tailed Kite Hamirostra melanosternon Black-breasted Buzzard Milvus migrans Black Kite Milvus migrans subsp. affinis Black Kite Aegothelidae Aegotheles cristatus Australian Owlet-nightjar Amphibolurus gilberti Ta-ta, Gilbert's Dragon Chlamydosaurus kingii Frill-necked Lizard Agamidae Diporiphora magna Diporiphora pindan Pogona minor Dwarf Bearded Dragon Anas gracilis Grey Teal Anas superciliosa Pacific Black Duck Anseranas semipalmata Magpie Goose, Pied Goose Aythya australis Hardhead Australian Wood Duck, Wood Chenonetta jubata Anatidae Duck Dendrocygna arcuata Wandering Whistling Duck Dendrocygna eytoni Plumed Whistling Duck Malacorhynchus membranaceus Pink-eared Duck Nettapus pulchellus Green Pygmy-goose Stictonetta naevosa Freckled Duck Apodidae Apus pacificus Fork-tailed Swift Ardea novaehollandiae White-faced Heron Ardeidae Ardea pacifica White-necked Heron Family Scientific Name Common Name Artamus cinereus Black-faced Woodswallow Artamus leucorynchus White-breasted Woodswallow Artamidae Artamus minor Little Woodswallow Artamus personatus Masked Woodswallow Boidae Antaresia stimsoni Stimson's Python Bovidae Bos taurus European Cattle Bufonidae Platyplectrum ornatum Ornate Burrowing
    [Show full text]
  • Download Full Text (Pdf)
    FRONTISPIECE. Adult and immature males of the Satin Berrypecker Melanocharis citreola sp. nov. from the Kumawa Mountains, New Guinea. Original artwork by Norman Arlott. Ibis (2021) doi: 10.1111/ibi.12981 A new, undescribed species of Melanocharis berrypecker from western New Guinea and the evolutionary history of the family Melanocharitidae BORJA MILA, *1 JADE BRUXAUX,2,3 GUILLERMO FRIIS,1 KATERINA SAM,4,5 HIDAYAT ASHARI6 & CHRISTOPHE THEBAUD 2 1National Museum of Natural Sciences, Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Madrid, 28006, Spain 2Laboratoire Evolution et Diversite Biologique, UMR 5174 CNRS-IRD, Universite Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France 3Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, UPSC, Umea University, Umea, Sweden 4Biology Centre of Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Entomology, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic 5Faculty of Sciences, University of South Bohemia, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic 6Museum Zoologicum Bogoriense, Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), Cibinong, Indonesia Western New Guinea remains one of the last biologically underexplored regions of the world, and much remains to be learned regarding the diversity and evolutionary history of its fauna and flora. During a recent ornithological expedition to the Kumawa Moun- tains in West Papua, we encountered an undescribed species of Melanocharis berrypecker (Melanocharitidae) in cloud forest at an elevation of 1200 m asl. Its main characteristics are iridescent blue-black upperparts, satin-white underparts washed lemon yellow, and white outer edges to the external rectrices. Initially thought to represent a close relative of the Mid-mountain Berrypecker Melanocharis longicauda based on elevation and plu- mage colour traits, a complete phylogenetic analysis of the genus based on full mitogen- omes and genome-wide nuclear data revealed that the new species, which we name Satin Berrypecker Melanocharis citreola sp.
    [Show full text]
  • Diverse Interactions, Including Hybridisation, Between Brown and Inland Thornbills in South Australia
    18 South Australian Ornithologist 41 (1) Diverse interactions, including hybridisation, between Brown and Inland Thornbills in South Australia ANDREW BLACK, PHILIPPA HORTON AND LEO JOSEPH Abstract relative) the Mountain Thornbill, A. katherina, of the Wet Tropics rainforests; the Inland Thornbill, A. apicalis, widespread across southern and Brown and Inland Thornbills have three zones of central Australian semi-arid and arid zones and contact in South Australia. Two of these involve the more mesic south-west of Western Australia; the Mount Lofty Ranges Brown Thornbill, which and the Tasmanian Thornbill, A. ewingi, endemic hybridises extensively with the Inland Thornbill in to Tasmania and its larger offshore islands. coastal shrublands and mangroves of eastern Gulf St Vincent, and which forms an apparently narrow Though the Brown and Inland Thornbills are not hybrid zone near Meningie with Inland Thornbills of sister species, the nature of interactions between the Upper South-East of South Australia. The third them where they approach each other in several zone involves Brown Thornbills of the South-East parts of their ranges has long been a contentious of South Australia and the Inland Thornbill, again area of research (e.g. Mayr and Serventy 1938, its Upper South-East population. This is evidently a Boles 1983, Schodde and Mason 1999). This paper broad zone of overlap without interbreeding. Closer further addresses the issue. study of the Gulf St Vincent hybrid zone revealed a variety of hybrid phenotypes but no parental forms. Across their full geographic ranges three major Most of the hybrid phenotypes resemble Inland zones of interaction between Brown and Inland Thornbills while some resemble Brown Thornbills of Thornbills have been recognised: 1) the Upper the Mount Lofty Ranges or of the South-East of South South-East of South Australia (SA) and north- Australia.
    [Show full text]
  • Eastern Australia: October-November 2016
    Tropical Birding Trip Report Eastern Australia: October-November 2016 A Tropical Birding SET DEPARTURE tour EASTERN AUSTRALIA: From Top to Bottom 23rd October – 11th November 2016 The bird of the trip, the very impressive POWERFUL OWL Tour Leader: Laurie Ross All photos in this report were taken by Laurie Ross/Tropical Birding. 1 www.tropicalbirding.com +1-409-515-9110 [email protected] Page Tropical Birding Trip Report Eastern Australia: October-November 2016 INTRODUCTION The Eastern Australia Set Departure Tour introduces a huge amount of new birds and families to the majority of the group. We started the tour in Cairns in Far North Queensland, where we found ourselves surrounded by multiple habitats from the tidal mudflats of the Cairns Esplanade, the Great Barrier Reef and its sandy cays, lush lowland and highland rainforests of the Atherton Tablelands, and we even made it to the edge of the Outback near Mount Carbine; the next leg of the tour took us south to Southeast Queensland where we spent time in temperate rainforests and wet sclerophyll forests within Lamington National Park. The third, and my favorite leg, of the tour took us down to New South Wales, where we birded a huge variety of new habitats from coastal heathland to rocky shorelines and temperate rainforests in Royal National Park, to the mallee and brigalow of Inland New South Wales. The fourth and final leg of the tour saw us on the beautiful island state of Tasmania, where we found all 13 “Tassie” endemics. We had a huge list of highlights, from finding a roosting Lesser Sooty Owl in Malanda; to finding two roosting Powerful Owls near Brisbane; to having an Albert’s Lyrebird walk out in front of us at O Reilly’s; to seeing the rare and endangered Regent Honeyeaters in the Capertee Valley, and finding the endangered Swift Parrot on Bruny Island, in Tasmania.
    [Show full text]