#meliphagoidea

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[3000/11080] Drab myzomela - Myzomela blasii

Also known as: Seram myzomela

Order: Passeriformes Suborder: Passeri Superfamily: Meliphagoidea Family: Meliphagidae (honeyeaters)

Photo credit: Wilbur Goh via Macaulay Library

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A female regent honeyeater in Capertee national park, New South Wales, Australia. There are only 300 to 400 of the birds left in the wild, says Ross Crates, an ecologist at Australia National University. They depend on nectar from certain eucalyptus tree blossoms, but the dry weather has meant many trees are producing no nectar. A preliminary analysis by Birdlife Australia found that across the country, 19 birds had more than half their habitat seriously affected by fire. Another 58 had lost over a third of the area they live in.

Photograph: David Stowe/AP

(via The week in wildlife – in pictures | Environment | The Guardian)

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[2827/11080] Crow honeyeater - Gymnomyza aubryana

Order: Passeriformes Suborder: Passeri Superfamily: Meliphagoidea Family: Meliphagidae (honeyeaters)

Photo credit: Neil Broekhuizen via Macaulay Library

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[2908/11080] Dark-eared myza - Myza celebensis

Order: Passeriformes Suborder: Passeri Superfamily: Meliphagoidea Family: Meliphagidae (honeyeaters)

Photo credit: David Beadle via Macaulay Library

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New honeyeater species described from Indonesia’s Alor Island

Scientists have described a new bird species found only on the Indonesian island of Alor, where a growing human population is already encroaching on the bird’s volcanic habitat.

The description of Myzomela prawiradilagae — named after prominent ornithologist Dewi Malia Prawiradilaga from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) — is a culmination of field observations by different research groups between 2002 and 2016, according to a paper published in the Journal of Ornithology on Oct. 5.

“The presence of an endemic species of Myzomela honeyeater on Alor is of great biogeographic significance,” the authors write.

The Alor myzomela is known to inhabit only eucalyptus woodland at elevations above 1,000 meters (3,300 feet) on the island, showing more pronounced differences in ecological preferences and lifestyle than other honeyeaters in the genus. It’s closely related to the crimson-hooded myzomela (M. kuehni) from the nearby island of Wetar, down to the red head, but differs in other physical characteristics and in its calls. These include dusky brown upper wings that are much paler than the black upperwings of other Myzomela species, and a call that researchers have transcribed as “tssip” or “vick.”

“The whole team was excited to have scientifically described the new bird species from Alor,” Mohammad Irham, a scientist with LIPI and the lead author of the paper, told Mongabay in an email.

He said the team spotted about 20 individuals of the new species during a single observation, but getting a full population estimate for the Alor myzomela will require further research.

The field visits were important in collecting a specimen, getting sound recordings and photographs, and characterizing their habitat use, the authors write. They used DNA sequencing to confirm the species is new to science.

A population estimate will be critical to assessing any threats to the species. The researchers note that its habitat is undergoing fragmentation by a growing human population on the island, which has prompted them to recommend it be considered endangered on the IUCN Red List.

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Study shows fairy wrens aware that their mating plumage attracts predators

A lot of research has been done on male bird plumage and its impact on breeding, but little has been done to learn more about possible side-effects of such plumage displays. In this new effort, the researchers sought to learn more about how sporting bright feathers causes male [fairy] wrens to alter their behavior due to fear of increased attention from predators.

[Fairy] wrens live in Australia and Tasmania—the natural coloring of both genders is soft brown and white. But just prior to mating season, some of the males shed their feathers and grow new ones that are several shades of blue to replace them. The feathers are quite naturally meant to attract females, but they also make it easier for predators to spot them. To learn more about how growing such plumage impacts male behavior, the researchers recorded predator warning calls by the birds and then played them back as a means of monitoring behavior.

Because only some of the males turn blue for mating season, it was possible to compare the behavior of both blue and non-blue males, as well as that of females and younger birds. Also, because the males do not change color every year, it was possible to compare the behavior of males when hearing warning calls during times when they were blue, versus when they were not.

The researchers report that males behaved much more cautiously during their blue periods compared to their behavior when they remained brown and compared to other males. They tended to be more sensitive to low-risk calls and responded faster to high-risk calls. They were also more likely to abandon activities they were engaged in prior to hearing a call. The researchers also found that other [fairy] wrens in the vicinity of the blue-plumed birds were less careful, though it was not clear if was because they felt that a predator would go for the blue bird or if they used the highly sensitive blue birds as sentries.

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[2842/11080] Cryptic honeyeater - Microptilotis imitatrix

Order: Passeriformes Suborder: Passeri Superfamily: Meliphagoidea Family: Meliphagidae (honeyeaters)

Photo credit: Lindsay Hansch via Macaulay Library

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[2817/11080] Crimson-rumped myzomela - Myzomela eichhorni

Also known as: yellow-vented myzomela

Order: Passeriformes Suborder: Passeri Superfamily: Meliphagoidea Family: Meliphagidae (honeyeaters)

Photo credit: Mark Sutton via Macaulay Library