The painted berrypeckers, Paramythiidae, are a very small

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 ...

family restricted to the mountain forests 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 ...

. The family comprises three

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

in two

genera Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial s ...

: the

tit berrypecker The tit berrypecker (''Oreocharis arfaki'') is a species of bird in the family Paramythiidae. First described by Christian Erich Hermann von Meyer in 1875, it is monotypic within the genus ''Oreocharis''. It is found in the New Guinea Highlands ...

(''Oreocharis arfaki'') in '' Oreocharis'', and the

eastern crested berrypecker The eastern crested berrypecker (''Paramythia montium'') is a species of bird in the family Paramythiidae. It is commonly found in the high montane forests and shrublands of New Guinea. There are two subspecies, ''Paramythia montium montium'' and ...

(''Paramythia montium'') and western crested berrypecker (''Paramythia olivacea'') in ''

Paramythia Paramythia () is a town and a former municipality in Thesprotia, Epirus, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Souli, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 342.197 ...

''. These are colourful medium-sized birds which feed on fruit and some insects. These species were formerly included in the

Dicaeidae The flowerpeckers are a family (biology), family, Dicaeidae, of passerine birds. The family comprises three genera, ''Dicaeum'', ''Prionochilus'' and ''Pachyglossa'', with 56 species in total. The family has sometimes been included in an enlarge ...

, but

DNA–DNA hybridization In genomics, DNA–DNA hybridization is a molecular biology technique that measures the degree of genetic similarity between DNA sequences. It is used to determine the genetic distance between two organisms and has been used extensively in phylo ...

studies showed these species were related to each other but distinct from the flowerpeckers. Some sources group painted berrypeckers as two genera belonging to the berrypecker family

Melanocharitidae The Melanocharitidae, the berrypeckers and longbills, is a small bird family restricted to the forests of New Guinea. The family contains eleven species in four (sometimes three) genera. They are small songbirds with generally dull plumage but a ...

Description

The painted berrypeckers are small to medium-sized

passerine A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped') which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines generally have an anisodactyl arrangement of their ...

birds. The smallest species, the

, ranges from 12–14 cm in length and weighs around 17–21 g. The larger crested berrypeckers are 19–22 cm in length and weigh 36–61 g. The variation in size in the crested berrypecker is due to differences in altitude (

Rapoport's rule Rapoport's rule is an ecogeographical rule that states that latitudinal ranges of plants and animals are generally smaller at lower latitudes than at higher latitudes. Background Stevens (1989) named the rule after Eduardo H. Rapoport, who ha ...

), with birds being larger at higher altitudes. Both genera have short necks, moderately long and broad rounded wings, and plump bodies. The tails vary between the two genera, with the tit berrypecker having a short square one and that of the crested berrypeckers being longish. In both species the short

bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Pl ...

is strong and black. The

plumage Plumage () is a layer of feathers that covers a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage differ between species and subspecies and may vary with age classes. Within species, there can b ...

of both species is soft, downy and brightly coloured. In both species the backs and wings are green and the tail is blue-grey. In the tit berrypecker the plumage is

sexually dimorphic Sexual dimorphism is the condition where sexes of the same species exhibit different Morphology (biology), morphological characteristics, including characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most dioecy, di ...

, with the male having bright yellow patches on the face, wing and chest but the female being overall duller. Both sexes of the crested berrypeckers are similar, but the species exhibits instead some variation between two

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 ...

. The plumages of the juveniles resemble the female in the case of the tit berrypecker and dull adults in the case of the crested berrypeckers. The crested berrypeckers have, as suggested by the name, an erectile crest. Both genera have unique filoplumes (hairlike feathers) on the flanks that are not visible in the field and the function of which is unknown.

Distribution and habitat

Both genera of painted berrypecker 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 ...

to the islands of

, one of two families to be restricted to the island (the other being the berrypeckers and longbills). Both genera are restricted to montane areas, usually above 2200m, though the tit berrypecker does occur as far down as 850m on occasions, and that species has a generally lower distribution than the crested berrypecker. Both genera are

arboreal Arboreal locomotion is the locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some animals may scale trees only occasionally (scansorial), but others are exclusively arboreal. The hab ...

birds of montane forest, particularly mossy forest. At higher altitudes the crested berrypecker will also inhabit stunted alpine forest and alpine thickets. It is unknown if the three species make any migratory movements, although it has been suggested that the tit berrypecker may be partly nomadic.

Behaviour

The painted berrypeckers are common, active, and diurnal birds. They usually occur in pairs or in small groups, up to 30 tit berrypeckers or 10 crested berrypeckers. The crested berrypecker flocks are occasionally joined by

mixed-species feeding flock A mixed-species feeding flock, also termed a mixed-species foraging flock, mixed hunting party or informally bird wave, is a flock of usually insectivorous birds of different species that join each other and move together while foraging. These ar ...

s of insectivorous birds such as

fantail Fantails are small insectivorous songbirds of the genus ''Rhipidura'' in the family Rhipiduridae, native to Australasia, Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent. Most of the species are about long, specialist aerial feeders, and named as "f ...

honeyeater The honeyeaters are a large and diverse family, Meliphagidae, of small to medium-sized birds. The family includes the Australian chats, myzomelas, friarbirds, wattlebirds, miners and melidectes. They are most common in Australia and New Gui ...

s and the blue-capped ifrit, and tit berrypeckers often join other bird species such as honeyeaters and

birds of paradise The birds-of-paradise are members of the family Paradisaeidae of the order Passeriformes. The majority of species are found in eastern Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and eastern Australia. The family has 45 species in 17 genera. The members of this ...

in feeding trees. As far as is known, the painted berrypeckers are almost entirely

frugivorous A frugivore ( ) is an animal that thrives mostly on raw fruits or succulent fruit-like produce of plants such as roots, shoots, nuts and seeds. Approximately 20% of mammalian herbivores eat fruit. Frugivores are highly dependent on the abundance ...

. Small fruits and berries comprise the biggest part of the diet, although the tit berrypecker has also been recorded eating small flowers. The crested berrypecker has also been observed to occasionally eat insects, and insects as well as fruit comprise the diet of nestlings. The breeding behaviour of both genera of painted berrypeckers is poorly known. Both species are

monogamous Monogamy ( ) is a relationship of two individuals in which they form a mutual and exclusive intimate partnership. Having only one partner at any one time, whether for life or serial monogamy, contrasts with various forms of non-monogamy (e.g. ...

, and are thought to be seasonal, with the tit berrypecker apparently nesting in the tail end of the dry season and early wet season. The crested berrypecker breeds from August to February. The

nests A nest is a structure built for certain animals to hold eggs or young. Although nests are most closely associated with birds, members of all classes of vertebrates and some invertebrates construct nests. They may be composed of organic materi ...

of both species are open cups built from

moss Mosses are small, non-vascular plant, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic phylum, division Bryophyta (, ) ''sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Wilhelm Philippe Schimper, Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryo ...

. Beyond that nothing is known of the tit berrypecker. In the crested berrypeckers the female alone incubates the eggs, with the incubation period lasting for over 12 days. Upon hatching both parents feed the chick and remove the faecal sacs.

Relationship with humans

The painted berrypeckers have limited interactions with humans. Like many New Guinean birds they are hunted opportunistically for food, but in spite of their bright plumage they are not targeted for their feathers in the same fashion as birds of paradise. If they have any cultural importance to the tribes of New Guinea at present this has not been documented. They are, however, sought out by

birdwatchers Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device such as binoculars or a telescop ...

, particularly the crested berrypecker, and as such have a small role in

ecotourism Ecotourism is a form of nature-oriented tourism intended to contribute to the Ecological conservation, conservation of the natural environment, generally defined as being minimally impactful, and including providing both contributions to conserv ...

. None of the species is considered to be threatened on the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is an inventory of the global conservation status and extinction risk of biological ...

. They are common within their ranges and while some of their montane habitat has been cleared for agriculture large areas remain intact.

References

External links

Bird Families of the World: Painted berrypeckers
{{Taxonbar, from=Q520316 . Endemic birds of New Guinea