Paramythiidae
Encyclopedia
The painted berrypeckers, Paramythiidae, are a very small bird
family restricted to the mountain forests of New Guinea
. The family comprises two species in two genera
: the Tit Berrypecker
(Oreocharis arfaki) and the Crested Berrypecker
(Paramythia montium). These are colourful medium-sized birds which feed on fruit and some insects. These species were formerly included in the Dicaeidae, but DNA-DNA hybridization studies showed these species were related to each other but distinct from the flowerpeckers. Some sources http://avibase.bsc-eoc.org/species.jsp?avibaseid=E430D900E2F2CDF4 group painted berrypeckers as two genera belonging to the berrypecker
family Melanocharitidae
.
birds. The smaller species, the Tit Berrypecker
, ranges from 12–14 cm in length and weighs around 17–21 g. The larger Crested Berrypecker
is 19–22 cm in length and weighs 36–61 g. The variation in size in the Crested Berrypecker is due to differences in altitude (Rapoport's rule
), with birds being larger at higher altitudes. Both species have short necks, moderately long and broad rounded wings, and plump bodies. The tails vary between the two species, with the Tit Berrypecker having a short square one and that of the Crested Berrypecker being longish. In both species the short bill
is strong and black.
The plumage
of both species is soft, downy and brightly coloured. In both species the backs and wings are green and the tail is blue-grey. In the Tit Berrypecker the plumage is sexually dimorphic
, with the male having bright yellow patches on the face, wing and chest but the female being overall duller. Both sexes of the Crested Berrypecker are similar, but the species exhibits instead some variation between two subspecies
. The plumages of the juveniles resemble the female in the case of the Tit Berrypecker and dull adults in the case of the Crested Berryecker. The Crested Berrypecker has, as suggested by the name, an erectile crest. Both species have unique filoplumes (hairlike feathers) on the flanks that are not visible in the field and the function of which is unknown.
, one of two families to be restricted to the island (the other being the berrypeckers and longbills
). Both species are restricted to montane areas, usually above 2200 m, though the Tit Berrypecker does occur as far down as 850 on occasions, and that species has a generally lower distribution than the Crested Berrypecker. Both species are arboreal birds of montane forest, particularly mossy forest. At higher altitudes the Crested Berrypecker will also inhabit stunted alpine forest and alpine thickets. It is unknown if the two species make any migratory
movements, although it has been suggested that the Tit Berrypecker may be partly nomadic.
s of insectivorous birds such as fantail
s, honeyeater
s and the Blue-capped Ifrita
, and Tit Berrypeckers often join other bird species such as honeyeaters and birds of paradise in feeding trees.
As far as is known, the painted berrypeckers are almost entirely frugivorous. Small fruits and berries comprise the biggest part of the diet, although the Tit Berrypecker has also been recorded eating small flowers. The Crested Berrypecker has also been observed to occasionally eat insects, and insects as well as fruit comprise the diet of nestlings.
The breeding behaviour of both painted berrypeckers is poorly known. Both species are monogamous
, and are thought to be seasonal, with the Tit Berrypecker apparently nesting in the tail end of the dry season and early wet season. The Crested Berrypecker breeds from August to February. The nests
of both species are open cups built from moss
. Beyond that nothing is known of the Tit Berrypecker. In the Crested Berrypecker
the female alone incubates
the eggs, with the incubation period lasting for over 12 days. Upon hatching both parents feed the chick and remove the faecal sacs.
, particularly the Crested Berrypecker, and as such have a small role in ecotourism
.
Neither species is considered to be threatened by the IUCN. Both species are common within their ranges and while some of their montane habitat has been cleared for agriculture large areas remain intact.
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
family restricted to the mountain forests of New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
. The family comprises two species in two genera
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
: the Tit Berrypecker
Tit Berrypecker
The Tit Berrypecker is a species of bird in the Paramythiidae family. It is monotypic within the genus Oreocharis.It is found in West Papua, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea....
(Oreocharis arfaki) and the Crested Berrypecker
Crested Berrypecker
The Crested Berrypecker is a species of bird in the Paramythiidae family.It is found in West Papua, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.-References:...
(Paramythia montium). These are colourful medium-sized birds which feed on fruit and some insects. These species were formerly included in the Dicaeidae, but DNA-DNA hybridization studies showed these species were related to each other but distinct from the flowerpeckers. Some sources http://avibase.bsc-eoc.org/species.jsp?avibaseid=E430D900E2F2CDF4 group painted berrypeckers as two genera belonging to the berrypecker
Berrypecker
Berrypecker may refer to:*One of six species of berrypecker in the bird family Melanocharitidae*One of two species of painted berrypecker in the bird family Paramythiidae...
family Melanocharitidae
Melanocharitidae
The Melanocharitidae, the berrypeckers and longbills, is a small bird family restricted to the forests of New Guinea. The family contains ten species in four genera...
.
Description
The painted berrypeckers are small to medium sized passerinePasserine
A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...
birds. The smaller species, the Tit Berrypecker
Tit Berrypecker
The Tit Berrypecker is a species of bird in the Paramythiidae family. It is monotypic within the genus Oreocharis.It is found in West Papua, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea....
, ranges from 12–14 cm in length and weighs around 17–21 g. The larger Crested Berrypecker
Crested Berrypecker
The Crested Berrypecker is a species of bird in the Paramythiidae family.It is found in West Papua, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.-References:...
is 19–22 cm in length and weighs 36–61 g. The variation in size in the Crested Berrypecker is due to differences in altitude (Rapoport's rule
Rapoport's rule
Rapoport’s rule is an ecological hypothesis that states that latitudinal ranges of plants and animals are generally smaller at lower than at high latitudes.-Background:...
), with birds being larger at higher altitudes. Both species have short necks, moderately long and broad rounded wings, and plump bodies. The tails vary between the two species, with the Tit Berrypecker having a short square one and that of the Crested Berrypecker being longish. In both species the short bill
Beak
The beak, bill or rostrum is an external anatomical structure of birds which is used for eating and for grooming, manipulating objects, killing prey, fighting, probing for food, courtship and feeding young...
is strong and black.
The plumage
Plumage
Plumage refers both to the layer of feathers that cover a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage vary between species and subspecies and can also vary between different age classes, sexes, and season. Within species there can also be a...
of both species is soft, downy and brightly coloured. In both species the backs and wings are green and the tail is blue-grey. In the Tit Berrypecker the plumage is sexually dimorphic
Sexual dimorphism
Sexual dimorphism is a phenotypic difference between males and females of the same species. Examples of such differences include differences in morphology, ornamentation, and behavior.-Examples:-Ornamentation / coloration:...
, with the male having bright yellow patches on the face, wing and chest but the female being overall duller. Both sexes of the Crested Berrypecker are similar, but the species exhibits instead some variation between two subspecies
Subspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
. The plumages of the juveniles resemble the female in the case of the Tit Berrypecker and dull adults in the case of the Crested Berryecker. The Crested Berrypecker has, as suggested by the name, an erectile crest. Both species have unique filoplumes (hairlike feathers) on the flanks that are not visible in the field and the function of which is unknown.
Distribution and habitat
Both species of painted berrypecker are endemic to the islands of New GuineaNew Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
, one of two families to be restricted to the island (the other being the berrypeckers and longbills
Melanocharitidae
The Melanocharitidae, the berrypeckers and longbills, is a small bird family restricted to the forests of New Guinea. The family contains ten species in four genera...
). Both species are restricted to montane areas, usually above 2200 m, though the Tit Berrypecker does occur as far down as 850 on occasions, and that species has a generally lower distribution than the Crested Berrypecker. Both species are arboreal birds of montane forest, particularly mossy forest. At higher altitudes the Crested Berrypecker will also inhabit stunted alpine forest and alpine thickets. It is unknown if the two species make any migratory
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
movements, although it has been suggested that the Tit Berrypecker may be partly nomadic.
Behaviour
The painted berrypeckers are common, active, and diurnal birds. They usually occur in pairs or in small groups, up to 30 Tit Berrypeckers or 10 Crested Berrypeckers. The Crested Berrypecker flocks are occasionally joined by mixed-species feeding flockMixed-species feeding flock
A mixed-species feeding flock, also termed a mixed-species foraging flock, mixed hunting party or informally bird wave, is a flock of usually insectivorous birds of different species, that join each other and move together while foraging...
s of insectivorous birds such as fantail
Fantail
Fantails are small insectivorous birds of southern Asia and Australasia belonging to the genus Rhipidura in the family Rhipiduridae...
s, honeyeater
Honeyeater
The honeyeaters are a large and diverse family of small to medium sized birds most common in Australia and New Guinea, but also found in New Zealand, the Pacific islands as far east as Samoa and Tonga, and the islands to the north and west of New Guinea known as Wallacea...
s and the Blue-capped Ifrita
Blue-capped Ifrita
The Blue-capped Ifrita , also known as the Ifrit, is a small insectivorous bird endemic to the rainforests of New Guinea. It measures up to 16.5 cm long and has yellowish brown plumage with a blue and black crown. The male has a white streak behind its eye, while the female's is a dull yellow...
, and Tit Berrypeckers often join other bird species such as honeyeaters and birds of paradise in feeding trees.
As far as is known, the painted berrypeckers are almost entirely frugivorous. Small fruits and berries comprise the biggest part of the diet, although the Tit Berrypecker has also been recorded eating small flowers. The Crested Berrypecker has also been observed to occasionally eat insects, and insects as well as fruit comprise the diet of nestlings.
The breeding behaviour of both painted berrypeckers is poorly known. Both species are monogamous
Monogamy
Monogamy /Gr. μονός+γάμος - one+marriage/ a form of marriage in which an individual has only one spouse at any one time. In current usage monogamy often refers to having one sexual partner irrespective of marriage or reproduction...
, and are thought to be seasonal, with the Tit Berrypecker apparently nesting in the tail end of the dry season and early wet season. The Crested Berrypecker breeds from August to February. The nests
Bird nest
A bird nest is the spot in which a bird lays and incubates its eggs and raises its young. Although the term popularly refers to a specific structure made by the bird itself—such as the grassy cup nest of the American Robin or Eurasian Blackbird, or the elaborately woven hanging nest of the...
of both species are open cups built from moss
Moss
Mosses are small, soft plants that are typically 1–10 cm tall, though some species are much larger. They commonly grow close together in clumps or mats in damp or shady locations. They do not have flowers or seeds, and their simple leaves cover the thin wiry stems...
. Beyond that nothing is known of the Tit Berrypecker. In the Crested Berrypecker
Crested Berrypecker
The Crested Berrypecker is a species of bird in the Paramythiidae family.It is found in West Papua, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.-References:...
the female alone incubates
Avian incubation
Incubation refers to the process by which certain oviparous animals hatch their eggs, and to the development of the embryo within the egg. The most vital factor of incubation is the constant temperature required for its development over a specific period. Especially in domestic fowl, the act of...
the eggs, with the incubation period lasting for over 12 days. Upon hatching both parents feed the chick and remove the faecal sacs.
Relationship with humans
The painted berrypeckers have limited interactions with humans. Like many New Guinean birds they are hunted opportunistically for food, but in spite of their bright plumage they are not targeted for their feathers in the same fashion as birds of paradise. If they have any cultural importance to the tribes of New Guinea at present this has not been documented. They are however sought out by birdwatchersBirdwatching
Birdwatching or birding is the observation of birds as a recreational activity. It can be done with the naked eye, through a visual enhancement device like binoculars and telescopes, or by listening for bird sounds. Birding often involves a significant auditory component, as many bird species are...
, particularly the Crested Berrypecker, and as such have a small role in ecotourism
Ecotourism
Ecotourism is a form of tourism visiting fragile, pristine, and usually protected areas, intended as a low impact and often small scale alternative to standard commercial tourism...
.
Neither species is considered to be threatened by the IUCN. Both species are common within their ranges and while some of their montane habitat has been cleared for agriculture large areas remain intact.