Mohoua
| Mohoua | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Whitehead | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Pachycephalidae |
| Genus: | Mohoua Lesson, 1837 |
Mohoua is a small genus of three bird species endemic to New Zealand. The Latin genus name is taken from either mohuahua or momohua - both Māori names for the Yellowhead.[1] All three species display some degree of sexual dimorphism in terms of size, with the males being the larger of the two sexes.[2] Mohoua are gregarious (more so outside the breeding season) and usually forage in groups . They also forage in mixed species flocks at times, frequently forming the nucleus of such flocks.[1] Unlike most species within Pachycephalidae, social organization and behaviour is well documented for all three Mohoua species; Cooperative breeding has been observed in all three species and is common in the Whitehead and Yellowhead.[1] The three species of this genus are the sole hosts for the Long-tailed Cuckoo which acts as a Brood parasite upon them, pushing their eggs out of the nest and laying a single one of its own in their place so that they take no part in incubation of their eggs or in raising their young.[2]
[edit] Species
- Whitehead, Mohoua albicilla - (Lesson, 1830)
- Pipipi, or Brown Creeper, Mohoua novaeseelandiae - (Gmelin, 1789)
- Yellowhead, Mohoua ochrocephala - (Gmelin, 1789)
[edit] References
- Del Hoyo, J.; Elliot, A. & Christie D. (editors). (2007). Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 12: Picathartes to Tits and Chickadees. Lynx Edicions. ISBN 9788496553422
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