Wattled Smoky Honeyeater
Encyclopedia
The Wattled Smoky Honeyeater (Melipotes carolae) is a species of honeyeater
with a sooty-grey plumage and a black bill
.http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/02/photogalleries/newguinea/photo2.html The most distinctive feature is arguably the extensive reddish-orange facial skin and pendulous wattle. In other members of the genus Melipotes
, these sections only appear reddish when "flushed" and the wattle is smaller.
An Indonesia
n endemic
, this honeyeater was discovered in December 2005. It is found in remote montane forests of Foja Mountains
range, Western New Guinea
at an altitude over 1,150 metres.
The first bird species found in New Guinea
since 1939, the honeyeater was one of over twenty new species discovered by an international team of eleven scientists from Australia
, Indonesia and the United States, led by an American
ornithologist and Melanesia
Conservation International
vice-president Bruce Beehler
.
The bird is named after the wife of Bruce Beehler
, Carol Beehler.http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/science/jan-june06/lostworld_3-10.html
Melipotes carolae is depicted in Indonesian stamps issued on November 6, 2006 along with the Golden-fronted Bowerbird
, and two palm species native to Mamberamo, Licuala arbuscula and Livistona mamberamoensis.
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...
with a sooty-grey plumage and a black 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...
.http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/02/photogalleries/newguinea/photo2.html The most distinctive feature is arguably the extensive reddish-orange facial skin and pendulous wattle. In other members of the genus Melipotes
Melipotes
Melipotes is a genus of bird in the Meliphagidae family. They have an overall dark plumage and extensive yellow, orange or reddish facial skin. The four allopatric species are restricted to the highland forests of New Guinea...
, these sections only appear reddish when "flushed" and the wattle is smaller.
An Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
n endemic
Endemism in birds
An endemic bird area is a region of the world that contains two or more restricted-range species, while a "secondary area" contains one or more restricted-range species. Both terms were devised by Birdlife International....
, this honeyeater was discovered in December 2005. It is found in remote montane forests of Foja Mountains
Foja Mountains
The Foja Mountains are located just north of the Mamberamo river basin in Papua, Indonesia. The mountains rise to , and have 3,000 square kilometres of old growth tropical rainforest in the interior part of the range...
range, Western New Guinea
Western New Guinea
West Papua informally refers to the Indonesian western half of the island of New Guinea and other smaller islands to its west. The region is officially administered as two provinces: Papua and West Papua. The eastern half of New Guinea is Papua New Guinea.The population of approximately 3 million...
at an altitude over 1,150 metres.
The first bird species found in 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...
since 1939, the honeyeater was one of over twenty new species discovered by an international team of eleven scientists from Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Indonesia and the United States, led by an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
ornithologist and Melanesia
Melanesia
Melanesia is a subregion of Oceania extending from the western end of the Pacific Ocean to the Arafura Sea, and eastward to Fiji. The region comprises most of the islands immediately north and northeast of Australia...
Conservation International
Conservation International
Conservation International is a nonprofit organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, which seeks to ensure the health of humanity by protecting Earth's ecosystems and biodiversity. CI’s work focuses on six key initiatives that affect human well-being: climate, food security, freshwater...
vice-president Bruce Beehler
Bruce Beehler
Dr. Bruce Beehler is an ornithologist and vice-president of Conservation International's Melanesia Center for Biodiversity Conservation ....
.
The bird is named after the wife of Bruce Beehler
Bruce Beehler
Dr. Bruce Beehler is an ornithologist and vice-president of Conservation International's Melanesia Center for Biodiversity Conservation ....
, Carol Beehler.http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/science/jan-june06/lostworld_3-10.html
Melipotes carolae is depicted in Indonesian stamps issued on November 6, 2006 along with the Golden-fronted Bowerbird
Golden-fronted Bowerbird
The Golden-fronted Bowerbird, Amblyornis flavifrons is a medium-sized, approximately 24 cm long, brown bowerbird. The male is rufous brown with an elongated golden crest extending from its golden forehead, dark grey feet and buffish yellow underparts...
, and two palm species native to Mamberamo, Licuala arbuscula and Livistona mamberamoensis.