Birds of the World
 - Greater Melampitta
 - Greater Melampitta
Listen

Greater Melampitta Megalampitta gigantea Scientific name definitions

Walter Boles
Version: 1.1 — Published October 24, 2023
Revision Notes

Sign in to see your badges

Field Identification

29 cm; 205 g. Body plumage is entirely black, or with varying amounts of rufous-brown on head, various parts of upperparts and underparts; demarcation between differently coloured areas sharp or irregular, particularly between black breast and brown belly; variations apparently related at least in part to age and possibly to geographical location, but not well understood; iris dark brown; bill and legs black. Sexes alike. Juvenile undescribed.

Systematics History

Previously placed in Melampitta. Monotypic.

Subspecies

Monotypic.

Distribution

West, north & far southeast New Guinea: Vogelkop (Arfak Mountains), Bomberai Peninsula (Fakfak Mountains, Kumawa Mountains), southern slopes of Snow Mountains (Utakwa River, Setekwa River), Torricelli Mountains (Mount Somoro) and southeast end of Central Dividing Range (Mount Mura).

Habitat

Forests on rugged limestone (karst), at 650–1,400 m.

Movement

Probably sedentary.

Diet and Foraging

No information. Diet probably insects.

Sounds and Vocal Behavior

Monotonously ­repeat­ed pair of fairly loud, moderately high-pitched notes, given only during day.

Breeding

No confirmed information. According to local people in Fakfak Mountains, nest a large basket of vines, suspended below ground level in deep, narrow, steep-sided limestone sinkhole.

Not globally threatened. Restricted-range species: present in West Papuan Highlands EBA, North Papuan Mountains EBA and Central Papuan Mountains EBA. Shy, little known and apparently very local; locally fairly common in Fakfak Mountains, in west of range. This species’ apparent rarity in most of its known range may be related to its preference for an environment that is usually avoided by fieldworkers. Future work in these areas may reveal that it is more widespread than presently thought.

Distribution of the Greater Melampitta - Range Map
Enlarge
  • Year-round
  • Migration
  • Breeding
  • Non-Breeding
Distribution of the Greater Melampitta

Recommended Citation

Boles, W. (2023). Greater Melampitta (Megalampitta gigantea), version 1.1. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.gremel1.01.1
Birds of the World

Partnerships

A global alliance of nature organizations working to document the natural history of all bird species at an unprecedented scale.