''Melidectes'' is a genus 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 honeyeater 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 ...

. All six species are

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 ...

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 ...

. The generic name is derived from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

''meli'' for honey and ''dektes'' for beggar or receiver.

Description

They are medium-sized honeyeaters, varied in appearance but possessing a long and sometimes stout bill and bare patch around the eye which is quite large and brightly coloured in some species.

Habitat

The genus is overwhelmingly restricted to montane environments. They occupy mountain forest, forest edge, alpine shrubland and shrubby thickets in grasslands. In some instances where two species occupy similar ranges, for example the

Belford's melidectes Belford's melidectes (''Melidectes belfordi''), also known as Belford's honeyeater, is a species of bird in the family Meliphagidae. It is found in the New Guinea Highlands. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forest. ...

and the yellow-browed melidectes in the

Schrader Range Schrader Range is a mountain range in central Papua New Guinea. It is a part of the Bismarck Range. See also *Schraeder Range languages External links Photo of the mountains References

Mountain ranges of Papua New Guinea {{PapuaNewGuine ...

s, the two species exclude each other and occur at different attitudes.

Feeding

The diet of the melidectes is not known for all species, but for those that are known it consists of insects,

nectar Nectar is a viscous, sugar-rich liquid produced by Plant, plants in glands called nectaries, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollination, pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to an ...

, pollen, fruit and berries. The short-bearded melidectes has also been recorded eating seeds. They feed in all levels of the forest, and in shrubs and thickets in more open environments. Some have been recorded feeding on the ground, either on ground plants or picking through the leaf-litter. They usually feed as singles, also foraging in pairs or small groups. Like many honeyeaters they may be aggressive towards other birds, including berrypeckers, painted berrypeckers, other honeyeaters and even other members of the genus. One study found that the Belford's melidectes aggressively defended the flowers of the terrestrial root

parasite Parasitism is a Symbiosis, close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives (at least some of the time) on or inside another organism, the Host (biology), host, causing it some harm, and is Adaptation, adapted str ...

'' Mitrastemmaa'' from the ornate melidectes.

Status and conservation

Many of the species of melidectes are restricted range species, occupying small global ranges; in many cases single mountain ranges. The most widespread species, the ornate melidectes, has actually benefited from human activities. That species prefers forest edge, secondary growth and gardens, and has apparently increased in numbers.

Species

The genus contains the following six species: * Cinnamon-browed melidectes (''Melidectes ochromelas'') * Vogelkop melidectes (''Melidectes leucostephes'') * Yellow-browed melidectes (''Melidectes rufocrissalis'') * Huon melidectes (''Melidectes foersteri'') *

(''Melidectes belfordi'') * Ornate melidectes (''Melidectes torquatus'') Three additional species were moved to the resurrected genus '' Melionyx'' based on the results of a

molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

study published in 2019.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q525293 Taxa named by Philip Sclater Taxonomy articles created by Polbot