Obscure Berrypecker (Melanocharis arfakiana)
About the Obscure Berrypecker
The obscure berrypecker (Melanocharis arfakiana) is a small passerine bird from the berrypecker family Melanocharitidae. It was described by the German ornithologist Friedrich Finsch based on a specimen collected on the island of New Guinea (to which the berrypecker family is endemic); collected in 1867 in the Arfak Mountains (now in Papua). Another specimen was collected in 1933 in the mountains (950–1000 m) northwest of Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea (BirdLife International 2006), these two specimens are the only confirmed records of the species. Unconfirmed sight records have been made in regions of New Guinea; these suggest that the species is not rare, and is a resident of disturbed forest, able to cope with human modification of its habitat. All these sightings were all made in the mountains (640-1,100 m), which is consistent with the range of the rest of the berrypeckers, only the black berrypecker has a lowland range (Beeher et al. 1986).
No audio on this page yet
We only publish recordings we may use commercially, because this site is supported by ads. xeno-canto lists 7 recordings for this species: 2 CC BY-NC-SA. None of them permits commercial use, so there is no player here — the page is kept as a profile so the bird is not missing from the guide.
As soon as someone uploads a freely licensed recording, we mirror it and the player appears here.
Listed as recorded in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea in the xeno-canto catalogue.
Other birds you can hear here
- Australasian FigbirdSphecotheres vieillotirecording
- Blue-winged KookaburraDacelo leachiirecording
- Channel-billed CuckooScythrops novaehollandiaerecording
- Common KingfisherAlcedo atthisrecording
- Fan-tailed CuckooCacomantis flabelliformisrecording
- Grey ShrikethrushColluricincla harmonicarecording
These are the birds recorded alongside it, not close relatives — the site holds no other member of its genus or family yet.