Pink-breasted flowerpecker explained

The pink-breasted flowerpecker (Dicaeum keiense) is a species of bird in the family Dicaeidae that is native to the south and southeast Maluku Islands of Indonesia. It was formerly considered a subspecies of the mistletoebird (Dicaeum hirundinaceum).

Taxonomy

The pink-breasted flowerpecker was formally described in 1874 by the Italian zoologist Tommaso Salvadori based on a specimen collected on the Kai Islands by the Italian botanist Odoardo Beccari. Salvadori coined the binomial name Dicaeum keiense.^{[1] [2]} The specific epithet is from the alternative spelling "Kei" for the Kai Islands.^[3] The pink-breasted flowerpecker was formerly considered as a subspecies of the mistletoebird (Dicaeum hirundinaceum).^[4]

Two subspecies are recognised:^[4]

• D. k. keiense Salvadori, 1874 – Tayandu Islands, Kai Islands and Watubela archipelago (southeast Maluku Islands)
• D. k. fulgidum Sclater, PL, 1883 – Tanimbar Islands (south Maluku Islands)

Notes and References

1. Salvadori . Tommaso . Tommaso Salvadori . 1874 . Altre nuove specie di uccelli raccolte nella Nuova Guinea dal Sig. L. M. D'Albertis e nelle isole Aru e Kei dal Dott. O. Beccari . Italian, Latin . Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Genova . 6 . 308–314 [313–314] .
2. Book: Paynter . Raymond A. Jr . 1986 . Check-List of Birds of the World . 12 . Museum of Comparative Zoology . Cambridge, Massachusetts . 195 .
3. Book: Jobling, James A. . 2010. The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names . Christopher Helm . London . 978-1-4081-2501-4 . 213 .
4. Web site: Gill . Frank . Frank Gill (ornithologist) . Donsker . David . Rasmussen . Pamela . Pamela C. Rasmussen . December 2023 . Dippers, leafbirds, flowerpeckers, sunbirds . IOC World Bird List Version 14.1 . International Ornithologists' Union . 29 January 2024 .