New Guinea Friarbird

About the New Guinea Friarbird

The helmeted friarbird (Philemon buceroides) is part of the Meliphagidae family. The helmeted friarbird, along with all their subspecies, is commonly referred to as "leatherhead" by the birding community. The helmeted friarbird was formally described in 1838 by the English zoologist William Swainson under the binomial name Philedon buceroides. The specific epithet combines the genus Buceros that was introduced in 1758 by Carl Linnaeus for the hornbills with the Ancient Greek -οιδης/-oidēs meaning "resembling". Swainson believed that his specimen had come from Australia (New Holland) but this was an error and in 1916 the Austrian ornithologist Carl Eduard Hellmayr designated the island of Timor as the type locality. The helmeted friarbird is now one of 17 friarbirds placed in the genus Philemon that was introduced in 1816 by the French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot.

Ten subspecies are recognised: P. b. jobiensis (Meyer, AB, 1874) – Yapen (Geelvink Bay islands, northwest New Guinea) and north New Guinea P. b. novaeguineae (Müller, S, 1842) – Raja Ampat Islands (northwest of New Guinea), Bird south Head (northwest New Guinea) and south, southeast New Guinea (New Guinea... Wikipedia →