The marbled honeyeater (''Pycnopygius cinereus'') 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

Meliphagidae The honeyeaters are a large and diverse family (biology), family, Meliphagidae, of small to medium-sized birds. The family includes the Epthianura, Australian chats, myzomelas, friarbirds, wattlebirds, Manorina, miners and melidectes. They are m ...

. The size of the marbled honeyeater is found to be 20–22 cm. The bird is classified as medium-sized with a medium-length solid bill. The male is 40–58 grams while the female is 36–46 grams in size.

Description

There are two subspecies of the marbled honeyeater, ''Pycnopygius cinereus dorsalis'' and ''Pycnopygius cinereus cinereus''. While the two subspecies are similar in appearance, they show slight differences. The marbled honeyeater is described by a variety of colors. The bird's head is dark brown with fine gray streaks on the forehead and bolder streaks on the neck. Around the eyes, the bird has a pale patch and a gray circle. Its upper body is brown with pale gray or olive edges, giving it a streaked look. The wings and tail are brown with olive tones. The underbody is a dusky gray with faint lighter markings and its bill is black, and the legs are light blue-gray.

Distribution and habitat

It is found in the

New Guinea Highlands The New Guinea Highlands, also known as the Central Range or Central Cordillera, is a long chain of mountain ranges on the island of New Guinea, including the island's highest peak, Puncak Jaya, Indonesia, , the highest mountain in Oceania. The r ...

. 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 ...

s. Marbled honeyeaters are found in the hill forest and lower and middle montane forest. The Pycnopygius cinereus cinereus, is found in the eastern highlands of

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

. The second subspecies, Pycnopygius cinereus dorsalis, is found in the northern and western parts of Papua New Guinea. Some of the parts include the

Adelbert Mountains Adelbert Range is a mountain range in Madang Province, north-central Papua New Guinea. The highest point of the mountains is at . The Northern Adelbert languages and Southern Adelbert languages are spoken in the region. Fauna and flora As with ...

and the

Vogelkop Peninsula The Bird's Head Peninsula (Indonesian: , , meaning Bird's Head in Indonesian and Dutch) or Doberai Peninsula (''Semenanjung Doberai'') is a large peninsula that makes up the northwest portion of the island of New Guinea, comprising the Indonesia ...

. The bird species is also found on Mt. Edward Albert. The species is seen in the oak forests and patches of

secondary growth In botany, secondary growth is the growth that results from cell division in the cambia or lateral meristems and that causes the stems and roots to thicken, while primary growth is growth that occurs as a result of cell division at the tips ...

within grassland. In the Eastern Highlands, they are primarily seen in the forest edge and in secondary growth. The bird species has also been recorded within forest interiors.

Diet and Feeding

The marbled honeyeaters diet includes nectar, parts of flowers, insects, and small fruits. Their fruit is usually 2-7 cm in diameter and they tend to eat

berries A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone fruit, stone or pit (fruit), pit although many wikt:pip#Etymology 2, pips or seeds may be p ...

in an area of secondary growth. Their diet does not require a lot of movement which leads to this bird being described by Peter J. Higgins, Les Christidis, and Hugh Ford, from Cornell Lab as “inconspicuous and rather sluggish.”BirdLife International. 2018. ''Pycnopygius cinereus''. ''The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species'' 2018: e.T22704164A130254957. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22704164A130254957.en. Accessed on 16 October 2024.

Behavior and Movement

The marbled honeyeater does not migrate, and has not been documented outside of the eastern highlands of Papua New Guinea, according to the IUCN Red List. They have a steady population and are on the “least concern” list as of 2018. Looking at the marbled honeyeaters' behavior, they have a distinct nature to them. The marbled honeyeater is typically silent, but sometimes the marbled honeyeater will have a low call by repeating itself in intervals of two seconds. The marbled honeyeater travels from tree to tree throughout the day, but typically spends much time looking for food.

Other Information

According to Higgins, Christidis, and Ford from Cornell Lab, very little is known about this species. The marbled honeyeater population is unknown with no official estimates, it is noted that the population is not threatened and the marbled honeyeater is considered “locally common.” A

nestling 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 lightweight ...

was recorded in March, and a female with an enlarged ovary was observed in November. Other relevant information is scarce, although descriptions of eggs have been documented. Due to the lack of information about the bird species, not a lot is documented about this particular bird.

References

Pycnopygius Birds of the New Guinea Highlands Birds described in 1873 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Meliphagidae-stub