Peltops
Encyclopedia
Peltops is a genus of bird
in the butcherbird family Cracticidae. The genus contains two species endemic to the island of New Guinea
. The genus was once placed with the monarch flycatchers, but molecular and morphometric studies place it closer to the butcherbird
s and woodswallow
s, possibly as a sister taxon to this group. The genus is named for the Greek
pelte meaning small shield and ops meaning face. The species have also had the common name of shieldbill.
ranges across the island from sea level to 600 m (1,968.5 ft), whereas the Mountain Peltops
ranges from 600 to 3000 m (1,968.5 to 9,842.5 ft). Within the forest they are particularly common at forest openings and edges, tree falls, river edges, and other disturbed areas including human modified openings like roads and gardens. In undisturbed virgin forest they may use massive trees emerging from and above the canopy.
is the same size in both species, making it proportionally larger in the Lowland Peltops.
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...
in the butcherbird family Cracticidae. The genus contains two species endemic to the island 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 genus was once placed with the monarch flycatchers, but molecular and morphometric studies place it closer to the butcherbird
Butcherbird
Butcherbirds are magpie-like birds in the genus Cracticus. They are native to Australasia. Their closest relatives are the three species of currawong...
s and woodswallow
Woodswallow
Woodswallows are soft-plumaged, somber-coloured passerine birds. There is a single genus, Artamus, The woodswallows are either treated as a subfamily, Artaminae in an expanded family Artamidae, which includes the butcherbirds and Australian Magpie, or as the only genus in that family...
s, possibly as a sister taxon to this group. The genus is named for the Greek
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
pelte meaning small shield and ops meaning face. The species have also had the common name of shieldbill.
Distribution and habitat
They both occupy rainforest on New Guinea, but are separated by altitude. The Lowland PeltopsLowland Peltops
The Lowland Peltops or Clicking Shieldbill is a species of bird in the Cracticidae family.It is found in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.-References:...
ranges across the island from sea level to 600 m (1,968.5 ft), whereas the Mountain Peltops
Mountain Peltops
The Mountain Peltops is a species of bird in the Cracticidae family.It is found in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montanes....
ranges from 600 to 3000 m (1,968.5 to 9,842.5 ft). Within the forest they are particularly common at forest openings and edges, tree falls, river edges, and other disturbed areas including human modified openings like roads and gardens. In undisturbed virgin forest they may use massive trees emerging from and above the canopy.
Description
The peltops are smaller than the butcherbirds, and have a less massive (but still large) bill than them. The Mountain Peltops is the larger species, at 20 cm (7.9 in), whereas the Lowland Peltops is slightly smaller at 18 to 19 cm (7.1 to 7.5 in). The hooked billBeak
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 the same size in both species, making it proportionally larger in the Lowland Peltops.
Species
It contains the following species:- Lowland PeltopsLowland PeltopsThe Lowland Peltops or Clicking Shieldbill is a species of bird in the Cracticidae family.It is found in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.-References:...
(Peltops blainvillii) - Mountain PeltopsMountain PeltopsThe Mountain Peltops is a species of bird in the Cracticidae family.It is found in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montanes....
(Peltops montanus)