Alternative names: High-mountain Eupetes; High-mountain Rail-babbler; Mountain Scrub-robin; White-spotted Scrub-robin
- Ptilorrhoa leucosticta
Identification
20cm.
- Dark chestnut crown and nape
- Black lores and chin
- Narrow black stripe down centre of throat broadening on upper breast into triangular black patch (finely spotted with white)
- White side of throat and neck side
- Upperparts dull olive green to chestnut (according subspecies)
- Underparts dull ashy blue
- Lesser and Greater Coverts black with broad white spots
- Secondaries brown to olive-brown
Sexes alike.
Distribution
Endemic to New Guinea.
Not uncommon but rarely seen.
Taxonomy
Seven subspecies recognized:
- P. l. leucosticta in the mountains of the Vogelkop
- P. l. mayri in the Wandammen Mountains south of Geelvink Bay
- P. l. centralis in the Weyland Mountains, the Nassau Range and Oranje Range. Possibly also Star Mountains.
- P. l. sibilans in the Cyclops Mountains
- P. l. menawa in the Bewani Mountains
- P. l. amabilis in the Saruwaged Mountains
- P. l. loriae on Mount Hagen and Schraderberg and east through mountains of southeast New Guinea
Habitat
Moist montane forests at 1200 - 2700m. Overlaps with Chestnut-backed Jewel-babbler at 1200 - 1450m.
Behaviour
Feeds on insects, other small invertebrates, also frogs and sometimes small fruit.
Forages on the ground. Shy and elusive.
Breeding recorded in September and October. The nest is a cup-shaped structure made of hair-like rootlets, moss and old leaves. It's placed 60 - 90cm above the ground in the base of a tree or a tree-fern. Lays 2 eggs.
Probably a resident species.
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. (2021) Spotted Jewel-babbler. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 31 May 2021 from https://www.birdforum.net/wiki/Spotted_Jewel-babbler
