Nominate race is largely dark olive to dark grayish-olive, slightly paler below, with varying brownish tinge on top of head and stronger grayish tone on lores, supercilium and ear-coverts, more brownish-olive remiges and rectrices, remiges with olive-yellow edges, browner chin to breast, iris bright orange to red-brown, bill blackish-grey to black, sometimes paler grey base of lower mandible, legs grey-brown. Sexes alike in plumage, male slightly larger than female. Juvenile is like adult but greyer belowe, iris dark grey to dark brown. Races differ only subtly in tone of plumage meyeri is somewhat paler, less greenish above than nominate, with buffish-grey chin and upper throat. Fuscicapilla is very like previous, perhaps slightly darker.
Not threatened
Nominate race is largely dark olive to dark grayish-olive, slightly paler below, with varying brownish tinge on top of head and stronger grayish tone on lores, supercilium and ear-coverts, more brownish-olive remiges and rectrices, remiges with olive-yellow edges, browner chin to breast, iris bright orange to red-brown, bill blackish-grey to black, sometimes paler grey base of lower mandible, legs grey-brown. Sexes alike in plumage, male slightly larger than female. Juvenile is like adult but greyer belowe, iris dark grey to dark brown. Races differ only subtly in tone of plumage meyeri is somewhat paler, less greenish above than nominate, with buffish-grey chin and upper throat. Fuscicapilla is very like previous, perhaps slightly darker.
VOICE: Call, frequently as conact during foraging, a plaintive or scolding, upwardly inflected series of “sreed-sreed-sreed…”or loud “sree sree” later given alos in flight.
13-15 cm, two males 20 g, two females 16-19 g (meyeri) two males16.5-19g (nominate), one male 22 g (fuscicapilla)
Taxonomy: Euthyrhynchus fulvigula Schlegel, 1871, Arfak Mountains, north-west New Guinea. Race fuscicapilla poorly differentiated, and possibly better merged with meyeri. Birds from Mt Goliath (in Oranje Range) described as race montana, but very similar to SE New Guinea population of meyeri and synonymized with latter. Three subspecies recognized.
Subspecies and Distribution:* fulvigula (Schlegel, 1871) - mountains of Vogelkop and Onin Peninsula (Fakfak Mts), in NW New Guinea. * meyeri (Salvadori, 1896) - Central Ranges from Weyland Mts E, including Foja Mts and North Coastal Range (Bewani Mts), to SE New Guinea (including Mt Bosavi). * fuscicapilla Mayr, 1931 - mountains of Huon Peninsula, in NE New Guinea.
Mid-montane forest and forest edge, mainly at c 1100-2450 m, but to 2700 in Snow Mts. In eastern Highlands recoreded at 1760-2440.
Insect recorded as eated. Forages in understorey, including low dense vegetation of ofrest edge and dense thickets in damp areas within forest. Usually singly, in twos or often in small, noisy family parties of up to four individuals, occasionally in mixed flocks.
Nest with egg in late Jan and female with egg in oviduct in late Jul, indicating breeding in wet and in dry seasons. Nest an open cup, externally of dry blades of grass and internally of fine roots and other fibres, lined with feathers. No other info.