Alternative name: Hill Golden Whistler
- Pachycephala soror
Identification
15cm.
- Black crown and face, octogenarii more dark grey
- Dark olive-green upperparts
- Dusky upperwing and tail
- White chin and throat
- Black band across upper breast joining black of head, broad in klossi, very narrow in octogenarii
- Yellow rest of underparts
- Dark red to dark brown eye
- Black bill
The female has a grey-brown crown, brown head-sides and a ill-defined yellowish-olive breastband. Juveniles have a reddish-chestnut plumage.
Similar Species
Similar to some subspecies of Golden Whistler but no range overlap.
Distribution
Endemic to New Guinea.
Fairly common in parts of its range.
Taxonomy
Five subspecies recognized:
- P. s. soror on Vogelkop Peninsula, northwest New Guinea
- P. s. octogenarii on Bomberai Peninsula, west New Guinea
- P. s. klossi in mountain ranges in central New Guinea (from Weyland Mountains east to Bismarck Range) and Huon Peninsula
- P. s. bartoni in mountains of southeast New Guinea
- P. s. remota in the mountains of Goodenough Island (D'Entrecasteaux Archipelago) off southeast New Guinea
Habitat
Moist lowland forests and montanes. Mainly found at 1000 - 2000m.
Behaviour
Feeds on insects.
Forages in lower and middle storey of forest. Joins bird-waves.
Breeding recorded in January and June. The nest is a small cup made of stems, leaves, moss and spider webs. It's placed 1.5 to 6m above the ground in a fork of a small tree or in a vine tangle. Lays 1 - 2 eggs.
Resident species. Some altitudinal shifts may occur.
References
- Clements, JF. 2008. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2008. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
- Del Hoyo, J, A Elliott, and D Christie, eds. 2007. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 12: Picathartes to Tits and Chickadees. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-8496553422
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Sclater's Whistler. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 28 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Sclater%27s_Whistler
