Mottled Whistler

About the Mottled Whistler

The mottled berryhunter or mottled whistler (Rhagologus leucostigma) is a species of bird that is monotypic within the genus Rhagologus and family Rhagologidae. The species was long thought to be a member of the Pachycephalidae on the basis of its appeareance, but genetic studies have now found it is not related to that family. It is endemic to the highlands of New Guinea, where its natural habitat is tropical moist montane forests.

The mottled berryhunter described by Italian ornithologist Tommaso Salvadori in 1876, who placed it in the whistler genus Pachycephala. The specific name he gave the species, leucostigma, is derived from the Ancient Greek leukos for white and stigma for spot. It was moved to its own genus, Rhagologus, in 1934 by Erwin Stresemann & Knud Paludan, the genus name referring to the Greek word rhagologos meaning berry-gathering. The species was long treated as a member of the whistler family Pachycephalidae, due to its general resemblance to members of that family. Several studies of the genetics of songbirds found it was not related to them, but instead placed closer to families such as the vangas, ioras or butcherbirds and woodswallows... Wikipedia →