Cnemophilidae
Encyclopedia
The Satinbirds or Cnemophilines, Cnemophilidae are a group of passerine
bird
s which consists of three species found in the mountain forests of New Guinea
. They were originally thought to be part of the birds of paradise family Paradisaeidae until genetic research suggested that the birds are not closely related to Birds of Paradise at all and are perhaps closer to Melanocharitidae
.
Passerine
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...
bird
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...
s which consists of three species found in 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...
. They were originally thought to be part of the birds of paradise family Paradisaeidae until genetic research suggested that the birds are not closely related to Birds of Paradise at all and are perhaps closer to 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
In each of the three species of satin birds, the male is more brightly colored than the female, which is dull and inconspicuous. Satinbirds have weak, non-manipulative feet, wide gapes (at one time they were given the name "wide-gaped bird of paradise"), as well as an unossified nasal region. All species of satinbirds build domed nests, unlike those of Birds of Paradise. The female lays a single egg and takes care of it without any assistance from the male. Satinbirds feed exclusively on fruit, even at a young age.Species
- Genus CnemophilusCnemophilusCnemophilus is a genus of bird in the Cnemophilidae family.It contains the following species:* Velvet Satinbird * Antenna Satinbird...
- Velvet SatinbirdVelvet SatinbirdThe Velvet Satinbird is a species of bird in the Cnemophilidae family.It is found in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea....
, Cnemophilus loriae - Antenna SatinbirdAntenna SatinbirdThe Antenna Satinbird or Crested Cnemophilus , formerly known as the Crested Bird-of-paradise is a species of bird in the Cnemophilidae family. It was formerly placed in the bird-of-paradise family Paradisaeidae until genetic work proved it was unrelated to those birds. It is found in Indonesia...
, Cnemophilus macgregorii - Genus Loboparadisea
- Yellow-breasted Satinbird, Loboparadisea sericea