New Caledonian whistler explained

The New Caledonian whistler (Pachycephala caledonica) is a species of bird in the family Pachycephalidae.It is endemic to New Caledonia.

Taxonomy

The New Caledonian whistler was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. He placed it with the flycatchers in the genus Muscicapa and coined the binomial name Muscicapa caledonica.^{[1] [2]} Gmelin based his account on the "olive flycatcher" from New Caledonia that had been described in 1783 by the English ornithologist John Latham in his book A General Synopsis of Birds. The naturalist Joseph Banks had provided Latham with a drawing of the bird.^[3] The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.^[4]

The New Caledonian whistler was formerly treated as a subspecies of the golden whistler. Until 2014, it was considered conspecific with the Melanesian whistler.^[5]

Notes and References

1. Book: Gmelin, Johann Friedrich . Johann Friedrich Gmelin. 1789 . Systema naturae per regna tria naturae : secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis . 13th . 1, Part 2 . Latin . Lipsiae [Leipzig] . Georg. Emanuel. Beer . 944 .
2. Book: Paynter . Raymond A. Jr . 1986 . Check-List of Birds of the World . 12 . Museum of Comparative Zoology . Cambridge, Massachusetts . 31 .
3. Book: Latham, John . John Latham (ornithologist) . 1783 . A General Synopsis of Birds . 2, Part 1 . Printed for Leigh and Sotheby . London . 342, No. 35 .
4. Web site: Gill . Frank . Frank Gill (ornithologist) . Donsker . David . Rasmussen . Pamela . Pamela Rasmussen . January 2023 . Whiteheads, sittellas, Ploughbill, Australo-Papuan bellbirds, Shriketit, whistlers . IOC World Bird List Version 13.1 . International Ornithologists' Union . 29 March 2023 .
5. Web site: Taxonomy 4.1 to 4.4 « IOC World Bird List. www.worldbirdnames.org. en-US. 2017-02-04.