Disambiguation: the split of Thick-billed Berrypecker results in Spotted Berrypecker getting a new scientific name (piperata)
- Rhamphocharis piperata
Melanocharis piperata
Identification
11-14cm. A distinctive Berrypecker with a long, stout bill and a narrow squared-off tail.
Male
- Olive-green with greenish gloss above, darker on crown
- Blackish uppertail-coverts and tail
- Pale grey below, slightly washed yellow on flanks
- White or yellowish-white pectoral tufts and underwing-coverts
Female
- Dark brownish-black head and body
- White spots on body particularly on breast and throat
- Some individuals with a white wingbar, formed of white spots
- Olive-yellow remiges
Immatures are similar to females but lack the spots on the upperparts.
Similar species
Females are similar to Spotted Honeyeater but they lack the yellow ear patch and the black markings on the underparts.
Distribution
Papua New Guinea: Uncommon to rather rare and poorly known.
Taxonomy
Thick-billed Berrypecker was formerly considered conspecific with Spotted Berrypecker.
Placed in genus Rhamphocharis by some authorities[2],[3] and in Melanocharis by others[1].
Subspecies
Clements recognizes these subspecies[1]:
- R. c. piperata
- Mountains of south-eastern New Guinea
- R. c. viridescens
- South-eastern New Guinea (Herzog Mountains)
Habitat
Moist montanes, secondary growth and in native gardens. Occurs mainly at 1150 - 2300m.
Behaviour
Diet poorly known. Feeds on berries and small fruits. Takes also arthropods.
Behaviour similar to that of a Honeyeater.
Usually seen singly, sometimes in small flocks in fruiting trees.
Breeding very poorly known. Juveniles recorded in September.
Presumably a resident species with some food related movements.
References
- Clements, J. F., P. C. Rasmussen, T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, A. Spencer, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2023. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2023. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Gill, F, D Donsker, and P Rasmussen (Eds). 2024. IOC World Bird List (v 14.2). Doi 10.14344/IOC.ML.14.2. http://www.worldbirdnames.org/
- Dickinson, EC, ed. 2003. The Howard and Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World. 3rd ed., with updates to December 2007 (Corrigenda 7). Princeton: Princeton Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0691117010
- Gregory, P. and D. A. Christie (2023). Spotted Berrypecker (Melanocharis piperata), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (B. K. Keeney and S. M. Billerman, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.spober3.01
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Spotted Berrypecker. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 23 March 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Spotted_Berrypecker
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
