Melidectes

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Melidectes
Belford's melidectes
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Meliphagidae
Genus: Melidectes
P.L. Sclater
, 1874
Type species
Melidectes torquatus[1]
Sclater, 1874

Melidectes is a genus of

Meliphagidae. All six species are endemic to New Guinea. The generic name is derived from the Greek meli for honey and dektes for beggar or receiver.[2]

Description

They are medium-sized honeyeaters, varied in appearance but possessing a long and sometimes stout bill and bare patch around the eye which is quite large and brightly coloured in some species.

Habitat

The genus is overwhelmingly restricted to montane environments. They occupy mountain forest, forest edge, alpine shrubland and shrubby thickets in grasslands.[3] In some instances where two species occupy similar ranges, for example the Belford's melidectes and the yellow-browed melidectes in the Schrader Ranges, the two species exclude each other and occur at different attitudes.[3]

Feeding

The diet of the melidectes is not known for all species, but for those that are known it consists of insects,

parasite Mitrastemmaa from the ornate melidectes.[4]

Status and conservation

Many of the species of melidectes are restricted range species, occupying small global ranges; in many cases single mountain ranges. The most widespread species, the ornate melidectes, has actually benefited from human activities. That species prefers forest edge, secondary growth and gardens, and has apparently increased in numbers.[3]

Species

The genus contains the following six species:[5]

Three additional species were moved to the resurrected genus

molecular phylogenetic study published in 2019.[5][6]

References

  1. ^ "Melaphagidae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
  2. ISBN 0-19-854634-3
    .
  3. ^
    ISBN 978-84-96553-45-3
    .
  4. JSTOR 2389240
    .
  5. ^
    Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (2020). "Honeyeaters"
    . IOC World Bird List Version 10.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
  6. S2CID 150056949
    .
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