Nominate race has off- white supercilium from side of forehead to above eye and broken eyering, greyish- brown lores and ear- coverts; neck side and upperparts olive- brown, upperwing grey- brown, primaries and greater primary coverts edged pale brown; tail dark olive- brown, rectrices edged paler; off- white below, chin and throat faintly streaked light brown, breast washed with with brown, sometimes with darker streaking; iris reddish- brown; bil and legs black. Sexes alike. Juvenile is rufous, underparts paler and lighter, remiges, rectrices and primary coverts edged rufous, secondary coverts rufous; immature like adult, but retains juvenile remiges and primary coverts, has paler bill. Races differ mainly in plumage tones, amount of yellow in plumage (present in all except first following), and degree of streaking bellow: dubia is like nominate ( i.e. lacks yellow pigment), but upperparts deeper brown, throat more heavily streaked, breast and flanks washed rufous- brown; waigeuensis has back olive, streaks on throat faint, breast without brown wash, belly pale yellow; gagiensis is like previous but slightly larger; jobiensis is also similar, but belly brighter yellow; griseiceps is also similar but breast has brownish wash, ear- coverts browner; perneglecta is like is like previous but with heavier streaking on throat; sudestensis is same as last in plumage, but larger and with longer bill; peninsulae is similar to previous two, bur upperparts not so deeply coloured, throat less heavily streaked, wash on breast reduced; rufipennis is like griseiceps but lack less olive, belly whiter; miosnomensis is larger, wits wing longer.
Not Threatened
Nominate race has off- white supercilium from side of forehead to above eye and broken eyering, greyish- brown lores and ear- coverts; neck side and upperparts olive- brown, upperwing grey- brown, primaries and greater primary coverts edged pale brown; tail dark olive- brown, rectrices edged paler; off- white below, chin and throat faintly streaked light brown, breast washed with with brown, sometimes with darker streaking; iris reddish- brown; bil and legs black. Sexes alike. Juvenile is rufous, underparts paler and lighter, remiges, rectrices and primary coverts edged rufous, secondary coverts rufous; immature like adult, but retains juvenile remiges and primary coverts, has paler bill. Races differ mainly in plumage tones, amount of yellow in plumage (present in all except first following), and degree of streaking bellow: dubia is like nominate ( i.e. lacks yellow pigment), but upperparts deeper brown, throat more heavily streaked, breast and flanks washed rufous- brown; waigeuensis has back olive, streaks on throat faint, breast without brown wash, belly pale yellow; gagiensis is like previous but slightly larger; jobiensis is also similar, but belly brighter yellow; griseiceps is also similar but breast has brownish wash, ear- coverts browner; perneglecta is like is like previous but with heavier streaking on throat; sudestensis is same as last in plumage, but larger and with longer bill; peninsulae is similar to previous two, bur upperparts not so deeply coloured, throat less heavily streaked, wash on breast reduced; rufipennis is like griseiceps but lack less olive, belly whiter; miosnomensis is larger, wits wing longer.
14- 15 cm; 16- 20 g (Australia), 20- 24 (New Guinea)
Taxonomy: Pachycephala simplex Gould, 1843, Port Essington, Northern Territory, Australia. Races sometimes separated into two species, one with nominate race and dubia (both browner, and lacking yellow pigmentation in plumage), the other containing the nine remaining races (all grey, with some yellow on underparts), such treatment possibly better; in E New Guinea, however, dubia hybridizes with jobiensis in N (near Astrolabe Bay) and with perneglecta in S (near R Laloki). Further research warranted. Name “P. rufipennis” was based on immature of present species. Eleven subspecies recognized. (source: Handbook of the Birds of World)
Subspecies and Distribution:
- * waigeuensis Stresemann & Paludan, 1932 - N West Papuan Is (Gebe, Waigeo). * gagiensis Mayr, 1940 - Gagi I (SW of Waigeo). * griseiceps G. R. Gray, 1858 - West Papuan Is (Salawati, Batanta, Misool), NW New Guinea (Vogelkop E to head of Geelvink Bay) and Aru Is. * miosnomensis Salvadori, 1879 - Meos Num (in Geelvink Bay). * jobiensis A. B. Meyer, 1874 - N New Guinea from Yapen Is and E coast of Geelvink Bay E to Astrolabe Bay. * rufipennis G. R. Gray, 1858 - Kai Is. * perneglecta E. J. O. Hartert, 1930 - S New Guinea from foot of Weyland Mts (S from R Mimika) E, including Daru I, to Galley Reach. * dubia E. P. Ramsay, 1879 - SE New Guinea E from Huon Peninsula and, in S, from Sogeri District and R Laloki, and D’Entrecasteaux Archipelago (Goodenough I, Fergusson I, Normanby I). * sudestensis ( De Vis, 1892) - Louisiade Archipelago (Tagula I), E of D’Entrecasteaux. (New Guinea). * simplex Gould, 1843 - N Northern Territory (Port Keats E to Port Bradshaw, including Melville I and Groote Eylandt), in N Australia. * peninsulae E. J. O. Hartert, 1899 - NE Queensland (Cape York Peninsula S to Cairns district), in NE Australia.
In New Guinea inhabits rainforest, monsoon forest, tall secondary growth, forest edges, gallerz forest and, locally, mangrove forest, partly cut forest, dense second growth; more numerous at forest edge; lowlands and hills to 1400 m, locally to 1550 m. In australia tall rainforest, drier vine forest, often on margins and regrowth, adjacent open forest, also mangroves (Northern Territory); lowlands, to 900 m on Atherton Tableland (NE Queensland).
Insects. Gleans prey mainly in lower to middle storeys of forest; forages also at tops of saplings in clearings.
In New Guinea, records suggest breeding peaks mainly at end of wet season and during second half of dry season, some also in early dry and early wet seasons; in Australia, breeds in Oct- Jan (possibly any month, depending on food) in NE Queensland and Dec- Mar in Northern Territory. Maintains loose territory throughout year. Nest a cup of grass, leaves, rootlets, twigs, plant fibre, sometimes spider web, lined with tendrils, feathers and grass seedheads, external diameter 7,6- 10,2 cm, height 5,7- 7,6 cm, internal diameter 5,1- 6,4 cm, depth 3,2- 5,1 cm; placed in fork of branch, foliage in vine or among upright shoots on stump, usually at 6- 15 m (sometimes lower) in Australia, 2,7- 12 m from ground in New Guinea. Clutch 2 eggs, pale buff with dark brown and lilac spots (nominate race) or white with brown and lavender spots mostly at larger end (peninsulae). 21,6- 23,4 x 15,2- 16,3 mm; no information on incubation and fledging periods.