Lesser Melampitta
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| Lesser Melampitta | ||||||||||||||
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| Melampitta lugubris Schlegel, 1871 |
The Lesser Melampitta, Melampitta lugubris, is a medium-sized, approximately 18cm long, enigmatic terrestrial songbird of mountain forests of New Guinea. It has an all black plumage with long legs and short tail. Both sexes are almost similar, distinguished by the color of the iris. The male has crimson red iris while female's dark brown.
The Lesser Melampitta builds dome-like nest in the forests. The diet consists mainly of insects. This little known and puzzling bird was placed in the Paradisaeidae family. It is now classify as a member of the Orthonychidae family by Birdlife International.
Widespread and a common species throughout its habitat range, the Lesser Melampitta is evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
There are three subspecies: Melampitta lugubris lugubris, Melampitta lugubris rostrata and Melampitta lugubris longicauda.
[edit] References
- BirdLife International (2004). Melampitta lugubris. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 31 October 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
