The Tagula shrikethrush (''Colluricincla discolor'') is a species of
bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...
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 64 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''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torr ...
populations of the little shrikethrush indicate high levels of genetic divergence, suggesting it comprised more than one species.
Distribution and habitat
It is found on
Tagula Island
Vanatinai Island (also called Tagula and Sudest, for the names of the extreme capes of the island) is a volcanic island in the south-east of the Louisiade Archipelago within Milne Bay Province of Papua New Guinea. The reef-fringed island is ap ...
in New Guinea. Its natural
habitat
In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and 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 ...
s are subtropical or tropical moist lowland
forest
A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...
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 fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucia ...
s.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q65051765
Tagula shrikethrush
Birds of New Guinea
Tagula shrikethrush
Tagula shrikethrush