Scientific name Henicopernis Rank Genus | Phylum Chordata Higher classification Accipitrinae | |
Lower classifications Long‑tailed honey buzzard, Black honey buzzard | ||
Henicopernis is a genus of bird of prey in the Accipitridae family. It contains the following species:
Both species are endemic to New Guinea. Genetic research has found that they are closely related to the Australian endemic square-tailed kite (Lophoictinia isura) and black-breasted buzzard (Hamirostra melanosternon), all sharing a 3-base-pair deletion in the RAG-1 gene. The four species form a monophyletic clade sister to Aviceda within the subfamily Perninae. It has been proposed that they could be united into a single genus, Hamirostra having precedence.
References
Henicopernis Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA