Puneet Varma (Editor)

Melanesian flycatcher

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Kingdom
  
Animalia

Order
  
Passeriformes

Genus
  
Myiagra

Higher classification
  
Myiagra

Phylum
  
Chordata

Family
  
Monarchidae

Scientific name
  
Myiagra caledonica

Rank
  
Species

Similar
  
Southern shrikebill, Vanikoro flycatcher, Samoan flycatcher, Myiagra, Rennell shrikebill

The Melanesian flycatcher (Myiagra caledonica) is a species of bird in the monarch-flycatcher family Monarchidae. The species is found on islands in Melanesia.

Contents

Taxonomy and systematics

It is closely related to the Vanikoro flycatcher. Alternate names for the Melanesian flycatcher include broad-billed flycatcher, Caledonian flycatcher, Caledonian Myiagra flycatcher, Melanesian broadbill, Melanesian Myiagra, New Caledonian flycatcher and New Caledonian Myiagra flycatcher. The alternate name "broad-billed flycatcher" should not be confused with the species of the same name, Myiagra ruficollis.

Subspecies

Five subspecies are recognized:

  • M. c. caledonica - Bonaparte, 1857: Found on New Caledonia
  • M. c. viridinitens - Gray, GR, 1859: Originally described as a separate species. Found on the Loyalty Islands
  • M. c. melanura - Gray, GR, 1860: Originally described as a separate species. Found on southern Vanuatu
  • M. c. marinae - Salomonsen, 1934: Found on northern and central Vanuatu
  • M. c. occidentalis - Mayr, 1931: Originally described as a subspecies of the Vanikoro flycatcher. Found on Rennell Island (south-eastern Solomon Islands)

    • Description

    The species is 13 to 14 cm (5.1–5.5 in) long and weighs 10 to 12 g (0.35–0.42 oz). The plumage is sexually dimorphic.

    References

    Melanesian flycatcher Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA