Lowland Peltops (Peltops blainvillii) 14 September 2019, Madang, Papua New Guinea
Lowland Peltops (
Peltops blainvillii)

Lowland Peltops (
Peltops blainvillii)
Peltopses include two unusual New Guinea endemic species of uncertain affinities. They are currently classified in the subfamily Peltopsinae within the Woodswallows and Butcherbirds (Artamidae). In the past they have been considered members of the Monarchidae or the Cracticidae (now merged with Artamidae), but may deserve full family rank. This thick billed species is also known as the Clicking Shieldbill for its dry clicking call notes. Their appearance and behavior remind me of the unrelated Swallow-winged Puffbird of South America. Canon PowerShot SX60.

References:

Gregory, P. (2017) Birds of New Guinea, Including Bismarck Archipelago and Boughainville. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.

Kearns, A.M., Joseph, L. & Cook, L.G. (2013) A multilocus coalescent analysis of the speciational history of the Australo-Papuan butcherbirds and their allies. Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 66(3): 941–952.

Russell, E., Rowley, I. & Christie, D.A. (2019). Lowland Peltops (Peltops blainvillii). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from https://www.hbw.com/node/60625 on 8 November 2019).
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