Mohoua | |
---|---|
Whitehead (Mohoua albicilla) | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Passeriformes |
Infraorder: | Corvides |
Family: | Mohouidae Mathews, 1946 |
Genus: | Mohoua Lesson, 1837 |
Type species | |
Certhia heteroclites[1] = Muscicapa ochrocephala Quoy & Gaimard, 1830
|
Mohoua is a small genus of three bird species endemic to New Zealand. The scientific name is taken from mohua – the Māori name for the yellowhead.[2] Their taxonomic placement has presented problems: They have typically been placed in the whistler family, Pachycephalidae, but in 2013 it was established that they are best placed in their own family, Mohouidae.[3] A large molecular genetic study published in 2019 found that the family is sister to the family Neosittidae containing the three sittellas.[4]
All three species display some degree of sexual dimorphism in terms of size, with the males being the larger of the two sexes.[5] Mohoua are gregarious (more so outside the breeding season) and usually forage in groups. They also forage in mixed species flocks at times, frequently forming the nucleus of such flocks.[2] Social organization and behaviour is well documented for all three Mohoua species; cooperative breeding has been observed in all three species and is common in the whitehead and yellowhead.[2] The three species of this genus are the sole hosts for the long-tailed cuckoo which acts as a brood parasite upon them, pushing their eggs out of the nest and laying a single one of its own in their place so that they take no part in incubation of their eggs or in raising their young.[5]
Taxonomy[edit]
The genus Mohoua was introduced in 1837 by the French naturalist René Lesson to accommodate a single species, the yellowhead, which is therefore the type species of the genus.[6][7]
Species[edit]
Image | Scientific name | Common name | Distribution |
---|---|---|---|
Mohoua albicilla (Lesson, 1830) | Whitehead | North Island of New Zealand | |
Mohoua novaeseelandiae (Gmelin, 1789) | Pipipi or New Zealand brown creeper | South Island of New Zealand | |
Mohoua ochrocephala (Gmelin, 1789) | Yellowhead | South Island of New Zealand |
References[edit]
- ^ "Mohouidae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
- ^ a b c "Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds"; Volume 7, edited by Peter Higgins, OUP, 2000
- ^ Zachary Aidala et al. Phylogenetic relationships of the genus Mohoua, endemic hosts of New Zealand's obligate brood parasitic Long-tailed Cuckoo (Eudynamys taitensis). Journal of Ornithology, published online June, 2013; doi: 10.1007/s10336-013-0978-8
- ^ Oliveros, C.H.; et al. (2019). "Earth history and the passerine superradiation". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States. 116 (16): 7916–7925. Bibcode:2019PNAS..116.7916O. doi:10.1073/pnas.1813206116. PMC 6475423. PMID 30936315.
- ^ a b Barrie Heather and Hugh Robertson, "The Field Guide to the Birds of New Zealand" (revised edition), Viking, 2005
- ^ Lesson, René (1837). Histoire Naturelle Générale et Particulière des Mammifères et des Oiseaux Décoverts Depuis la Mort de Buffon (in French). Vol. 9, Oiseaux. Paris: Pourrat Frères. p. 139.
- ^ Mayr, Ernst; Cottrell, G. William, eds. (1986). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 11. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 460. Note that Mayr gives the wrong title and date for Lesson's book.
- Del Hoyo, J.; Elliot, A. & Christie D. (editors). (2007). Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 12: Picathartes to Tits and Chickadees. Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-84-96553-42-2
Well, that’s interesting to know that Psilotum nudum are known as whisk ferns. Psilotum nudum is the commoner species of the two. While the P. flaccidum is a rare species and is found in the tropical islands. Both the species are usually epiphytic in habit and grow upon tree ferns. These species may also be terrestrial and grow in humus or in the crevices of the rocks.
View the detailed Guide of Psilotum nudum: Detailed Study Of Psilotum Nudum (Whisk Fern), Classification, Anatomy, Reproduction