Campbell's fairywren explained

Campbell's fairywren (Chenorhamphus campbelli) is a species of bird in the Australasian wren family, Maluridae. It is found in New Guinea. It is found in south-central and south-eastern New Guinea in its natural habitat of subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.

Taxonomy and systematics

Formerly, this species was lumped with the broad-billed fairywren in the genus Malurus until a 2011 analysis of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA showed high divergence between the two subspecies resulting in them being re-split into separate species. The study also found them to lie in a clade with the genera Sipodotus and Clytomyias leading to their subsequent re-classification in their own genus, Chenorhamphus.[1] [2] The species is named after Rob Campbell, of Dunfermline, Scotland, who identified it during his time in Papua New Guinea in the 1980s.

Notes and References

  1. Driskell, Amy C. . Norman, Janette A. . Pruett-Jones, Stephen . Mangall, Elizabeth . Sonsthagen, Sarah . Christidis, Les . Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 2011. 60. 480–85. A multigene phylogeny examining evolutionary and ecological relationships in the Australo-papuan wrens of the subfamily Malurinae (Aves). 21466855. 10.1016/j.ympev.2011.03.030.
  2. Web site: Taxonomy Version 2 « IOC World Bird List. www.worldbirdnames.org. en-US. 2017-11-14.