The Bismarck whistler (''Pachycephala citreogaster'') 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 ...

, which is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to the

Bismarck Archipelago The Bismarck Archipelago (, ) is a group of islands off the northeastern coast of New Guinea in the western Pacific Ocean and is part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea. Its area is about . History The first inhabitants of the archipela ...

north-east 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 ...

Taxonomy and systematics

Prior to 2015, the western whistler was considered as a subspecies of the

Australian golden whistler The Australian golden whistler (''Pachycephala pectoralis'') or golden whistler, is a species of bird found in forest, woodland, mallee, mangrove and scrub in Australia (except the interior and most of the north). Most populations are resident, ...

until recognized as a separate species. Some other authorities still consider it to be a

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 ...

of a wide-ranging

golden whistler The Australian golden whistler (''Pachycephala pectoralis'') or golden whistler, is a species of bird found in forest, woodland, mallee, mangrove and scrub in Australia (except the interior and most of the north). Most populations are resident, ...

, but strong published evidence in favour of either treatment is limited, and further study is warranted to resolve the complex

taxonomic 280px, Generalized scheme of taxonomy Taxonomy is a practice and science concerned with classification or categorization. Typically, there are two parts to it: the development of an underlying scheme of classes (a taxonomy) and the allocation ...

situation.Boles, W. E. (2007). Golden Whistler (Pachycephala pectoralis). pp. 421-423 in: del Hoyo, J.; Elliot, A. & Christie, D. eds (2007). ''

Handbook of the Birds of the World The ''Handbook of the Birds of the World'' (HBW) is a multi-volume series produced by the Spanish publishing house Lynx Edicions in partnership with BirdLife International. It is the first handbook to cover every known living species of bird. ...

''. Volume 12: ''Picathartes to Tits and Chickadees.'' Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.

Subspecies

Five subspecies are recognized: * ''P. c. citreogaster'' -

Ramsay Ramsay may refer to: People * Ramsay (surname), people named Ramsay * Clan Ramsay, a Scottish clan * Ramsay brothers, Indian film makers * Richard Sorge (1895–1944), Soviet spy codenamed "Ramsay" Places Australia * Ramsay, Queensland, a lo ...

, 1876: Found on New Hanover,

New Britain New Britain () is the largest island in the Bismarck Archipelago, part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea. It is separated from New Guinea by a northwest corner of the Solomon Sea (or with an island hop of Umboi Island, Umboi the Dampie ...

and New Ireland (Bismarck Archipelago) * ''P. c. sexuvaria'' -

Rothschild Rothschild () is a name derived from the German ''zum rothen Schild'' (with the old spelling "th"), meaning "to the red shield", in reference to the houses where these family members lived or had lived. At the time, houses were designated by signs ...

Hartert Ernst Johann Otto Hartert (29 October 1859 – 11 November 1933) was a widely published German people, German ornithologist. Life and career Hartert was born in the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg on 29 October 1859. In July 1891, he married ...

, 1924: Found on St. Matthias Islands (northern Bismarck Archipelago) * ''P. c. goodsoni'' - Rothschild & Hartert, 1914: Found on

Admiralty Islands The Admiralty Islands are an archipelago group of 40 islands in the Bismarck Archipelago, to the north of New Guinea in the South Pacific Ocean. These are also sometimes called the Manus Islands, after the largest island. These rainforest-cov ...

(north of New Guinea) * ''P. c. tabarensis'' -

Mayr Mayr is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Andrea Mayr (born 1979), Austrian female long-distance runner * Ernst Mayr (1904–2005), German American evolutionary biologist * Franz Xaver Mayr (1875–1965), Austrian gastro ...

, 1955: Found on

Tabar Island Tabar Island is an island of the Tabar Group of Papua New Guinea, located to the east of New Ireland. It is inhabited by the Tabar people. Geography Tabar Island is the main island of the Tabar Group and forms part of the New Ireland Provinc ...

(eastern Bismarck Archipelago) * ''P. c. ottomeyeri'' -

Stresemann Stresemann is a German family name which may refer to: * Christina Stresemann (born 1957), German judge; daughter of Wolfgang Stresemann * Erwin Stresemann (1889 – 1972), German ornithologist * Gustav Stresemann Gustav Ernst Stresemann (; 10 ...

, 1933: Found on

Lihir Island Lihir Island (a.k.a. Niolam Island) is the largest island in the Lihir Group, Lihir group of islands, long and wide, in Papua New Guinea's New Ireland Province. It consists of a complex of several overlapping basaltic stratovolcanoes rising 700 ...

(eastern Bismarck Archipelago)

Description

The males of the Bismarck whistler are white-throated unlike the yellow-throated males of the

oriole whistler The oriole whistler (''Pachycephala orioloides''), also known as the yellow-throated whistler (leading to easy confusion with '' Pachycephala macrorhyncha''), is a species of bird in the family Pachycephalidae, which is endemic to the Solomon Isl ...

(''P. orioloides'') to the south-east.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1923235 Bismarck whistler Birds of the Bismarck Archipelago Bismarck whistler Endemic birds of Papua New Guinea