The rufous shrikethrush (''Colluricincla rufogaster'') is a species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

in the family

Pachycephalidae The Pachycephalidae are a family of bird species that includes the whistlers, shrikethrushes, and three of the pitohuis, and is part of the ancient Australo-Papuan radiation of songbirds. The family includes 69 species that are separated into fi ...

Taxonomy and systematics

This species was formerly considered a conspecific member of the little shrikethrush complex. Genetic investigations of

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

populations of the little shrikethrush indicate high levels of genetic divergence, suggesting it comprised more than one species.

Subspecies

Currently, three

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

are recognized: * ''Colluricincla rufogaster rufogaster'' - Gould, 1845: Describing the type of the species. Found in the south-eastern Queensland and north-eastern New South Wales (eastern Australia) * ''C. rufogaster goodsoni'' - (Hartert, E, 1930): Found on south Gulf of Carpentaria and Cape York Peninsula to Torres Strait islands, coastal Trans-Fly region of New Guinea * ''C. rufogaster griseata'' - (Gray, GR, 1858): Originally described as a separate species. Found in north-eastern Queensland (Australia)

Distribution and habitat

It is found in New Guinea and Australia. Its natural

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

s are subtropical or tropical moist lowland

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

s and subtropical or tropical moist

montane forest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures lapse rate, fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is ...

Behaviour and ecology

During a study of

toxicity Toxicity is the degree to which a chemical substance or a particular mixture of substances can damage an organism. Toxicity can refer to the effect on a whole organism, such as an animal, bacteria, bacterium, or plant, as well as the effect o ...

in birds, two specimens of this species were tested. One of these specimens contained traces of batrachotoxins (BTXs) similar to those found in the secretions of Central and South American

poison dart frogs Poison dart frog (also known as dart-poison frog, poison frog or formerly known as poison arrow frog) is the common name of a group of frogs in the family Dendrobatidae which are native to tropical Central and South America. These species are ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q65090345 Rufous shrikethrush Birds of New Guinea Birds of Australia Rufous shrikethrush Rufous shrikethrush Toxic birds