Nominate race has head and hindneck grey, rufous nape patch; upperparts dull yellowish- olive, flight- feathers blackish- brown, edged dull yellowish- olive, upperwing- coverts dull yellowish- olive, tail olive- brown; centre of chin dull white, throat yellow, centre of breast and belly white to creamy white, diffusely separated from olive sides of breast and belly and flanks, thighs dusky brown; iris whitish, buffy, yellowish or dark brown; bill black; legs brownish- grey to grey. Sexes alike; iris colour apparently palest in adult male. Juvenile is extensively reddish- chestnut, with iris dark brown, bill dark horn- brown; immature like adult but duller, nape and upperparts olive- green, head only slightly greyer, white underparts mottled olive. Race niveifrons has nape patch larger than nominate, upperparts olive- green, forehead white with dark feather centres; gamblei is similar to previous, but dark centres of forehead feathers more extensive, underparts tinged brown; lochmia is also similar, but upperparts darker, flanks grey. Voice: Song of clear ringing whistles or upslurs, either alternating between notes or repeated monotonously for extensive periods. Call is a loud, harsh hiss.
Not Threatened
Nominate race has head and hindneck grey, rufous nape patch; upperparts dull yellowish- olive, flight- feathers blackish- brown, edged dull yellowish- olive, upperwing- coverts dull yellowish- olive, tail olive- brown; centre of chin dull white, throat yellow, centre of breast and belly white to creamy white, diffusely separated from olive sides of breast and belly and flanks, thighs dusky brown; iris whitish, buffy, yellowish or dark brown; bill black; legs brownish- grey to grey. Sexes alike; iris colour apparently palest in adult male. Juvenile is extensively reddish- chestnut, with iris dark brown, bill dark horn- brown; immature like adult but duller, nape and upperparts olive- green, head only slightly greyer, white underparts mottled olive. Race niveifrons has nape patch larger than nominate, upperparts olive- green, forehead white with dark feather centres; gamblei is similar to previous, but dark centres of forehead feathers more extensive, underparts tinged brown; lochmia is also similar, but upperparts darker, flanks grey.
16.5- 18 cm; 38- 42 g
Taxonomy: Pachycephala rufinucha P. L. Sclater, 1874, Hatam, Arfak Mountains, Vogelkop, New Guinea. Often placed in genus Pachycephala. Proposed race prasinonota (from Herzog Mts) regarded as inseparable from gamblei. Birds in Torricelli Mts and Adelbert Mts of uncertain racial affiliation, provisionally included in niveifrons. Four subspecies recognized. (source: Handbook of the Birds of World)
Subspecies and Distribution:
- * rufinucha (P. L. Sclater, 1874) - Vogelkop (Tamrau Mts, Arfak Mts), in NW New Guinea. * niveifrons (E. J. O. Hartert, 1930) - mountains of W, C & N New Guinea (Wandammen, Weyland, and Nassau E to Kubor and Bismarck Ranges, also Torricelli Mts and Adelbert Mts). * lochmia (Mayr, 1931) - Huon Peninsula (Saruwaged Mts), in NE New Guinea. * gamblei (Rothschild, 1897) - Herzog Mts and mountains of SE New Guinea.
Mountain forest and secondary growth; 1200- 3600 m. FOOD: Insects; also worms and fruit. Credited locally with ability to take large prey. Frequents ground and understorey. Foreges extensively on ground (c. 25%), and in undergrowth (c. 60%) and lower storey (c. 15%), occasionally to upper tree levels. Feeds mainly in inner third of trees on trunks and large branches. Creeps along branches and up vertical trunks.
Insects; also worms and fruit. Credited locally with ability to take large prey. Frequents ground and understorey. Foreges extensively on ground (c. 25%), and in undergrowth (c. 60%) and lower storey (c. 15%), occasionally to upper tree levels. Feeds mainly in inner third of trees on trunks and large branches. Creeps along branches and up vertical trunks.
Nests with eggs in early Jun and late Dec, with eggs and young in mid- Oct and with young in early Dec, juveniles seen in late Mar to mid- May and in late Sept, and fledglings seen inmid- Jul; indicative of breeding during late dry season to early wet and mid wet season to early dry season, at least. Nest a deep, bulky cup made from moss, ferns and coarse rootlets, lined with leaf skeletons, plant fibres and feathers, placed in vertical fork, usually fairly low but sometimes high up. Clutch 2 eggs, possibly sometimes 1, white, spotted with black and grey, 28- 28,9 x 19,5- 20,4 mm. No other information.