Morningbird - BirdForum Opus

Alternative name: Palau Morning Bird

Pachycephala tenebrosa

Identification

18 - 19cm.

• Blackish hood, contrasting to rest of plumage in some birds, less so in others
• Sooty brown upperparts, including tail and upperwing
• Sooty brown below, lighter on lower breast to undertail-coverts
• Darker flanks
• Dark eye
• Dark brown bill
• Lighter brown legs

Females are smaller and a bit lighter than male.

Distribution

Endemic to Palau where found on Babelthuap, Koror, Garakayo, Peleliu and Ngabad.
Fairly common in its small range.

Taxonomy

This is a monotypic species¹.
It has in the past been included in the Pitohui as Pitohui tenebrosus and in the genus Colluricincla but a genetic analysis³ indicates that it really is a Whistler and belongs to in genus Pachycephala.

Habitat

Moist lowland forest

Behaviour

Feeds on insects, takes also snails, berries, fruit, seeds and green plant material.
No information about breeding season, nest or clutch size.
Resident species.

References

1. 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.
2. 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
3. Dumbacher JP, Deiner K, Thompson L, Fleischer RC. Phylogeny of the avian genus Pitohui and the evolution of toxicity in birds. Mol Phylogenet Evol. 2008 Oct 1. [Epub ahead of print]

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Morningbird. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 6 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Morningbird

External Links

Search for photos of Morningbird in the gallery