Birds of New Guinea

528 Pages·2008·70.8 MB·english

by  Thane K. Pratt

Birds of New Guinea
Second Edition
Princeton Field Guides
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authority for professional scientists and amateur naturalists alike. Princeton Field Guides present this
information in a compact format carefully designed for easy use in the field. The guides illustrate every
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Birds of the Middle East, by R. F. Porter, S. Christensen, and P. Schiermacker-H ansen
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Birds of New Guinea, by Thane K. Pratt and Bruce M. Beehler
Birds of Northern India, by Richard Grimmett and Tim Inskipp
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Birds of New Guinea
Second Edition
Thane K. Pratt and Bruce M. Beehler
With editorial contributions by
K. David Bishop, Brian J. Coates, Jared M. Diamond, and Mary LeCroy
Illustrated by
John C. Anderton and Szabolcs Kókay
and
James Coe and Dale Zimmerman
PRINCETON UNIvERSITy PRESS
PRINCETON AND OxFORD
Copyright © 2015 by Princeton University Press
Published by Princeton University Press, 41 William Street, Princeton, New Jersey 08540
In the United Kingdom: Princeton University Press, 6 Oxford Street, Woodstock, Oxfordshire
Ox20 1TW
press.princeton.edu
Jacket illustration by Szabolcs KÓkay
All Rights Reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Pratt, Thane K.
Birds of New Guinea / Thane K. Pratt and Bruce M. Beehler ; with editorial contributions
by K. David Bishop, Brian J. Coates, Jared M. Diamond, and Mary LeCroy ; illustrated by
John C. Anderton and Szabolcs KÓkay and James Coe and Dale Zimmerman. — Second
edition
pages cm. — (Princeton field guides)
Previous edition by Bruce M. Beehler, Thane K. Pratt, and Dale A. Zimmerman.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-691-09562-2 (hardback : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-691-09563-9 (pbk. : alk.
paper) 1. Birds—New Guinea. 2. Birds—New Guinea—Identification.. I. Beehler, Bruce McP.
II. Title.
QL691.N48B44 2014
598.0995--dc23 2014009192
British Library Cataloging- in- Publication Data is available
Recommended citation:
Pratt, Thane K., and Bruce M. Beehler. 2015. Birds of New Guinea, Second Edition.
Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, USA
This book has been composed in Minion and Myriad Pro
Printed on acid- free paper. ∞
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Dedicated to
William J. and Judy Hancock
Will and Judy, formerly teachers at Hawai`i Preparatory Academy, all but adopted Thane from
high school onward. Will was instrumental in securing a series of seed grants from the Reid
Foundation that allowed us to take the book the quantum leap forward to an entirely new
second edition. Their kindness and generosity over the years will always be remembered with
much affection. Mahalo nui loa!
Russell and Robert Faucett
Russ and Rob joined the project towards the end, and it was their substantial grants through the
Faucett Catalyst Fund that enabled us to complete the book by funding artwork, all the maps,
and travel to PNG for artist John Anderton so that he would see firsthand the kaleidoscope
world of New Guinea birds. Russ and Rob took considerable interest in the project, and they
provided encouragement every step of the way. To them we are deeply grateful.
Linda Pratt and Carol Beehler
For their love and support.

Contents

Preface 9
Acknowledgments 11
Abbreviations 13
1. Introduction 14
2. How to Use This Book 17
3. New Guinea Natural History 20
4. In the Field in Search of Birds 33
Selected References 36
Web Sources 39
Plates 40
Species Accounts 262
Index 517
8
Preface
Twenty- eight years have passed since publication of the first edition of Birds of New Guinea. In that
time, big changes have taken place in this important bird region. The human population has more
than doubled, economic development— particularly mining and logging— has accelerated, and
the loss of habitat has increased proportionately. On the brighter side, vast tracts of wilderness
remain, several international conservation organizations have joined forces with local governments
to protect the forest, birding as a form of ecotourism has blossomed, and a new generation of
field researchers has taken to the bush. Exciting new information on bird distribution and biology
has poured in. And as if to heighten appreciation for New Guinea’s avifauna, modern molecular
systematic research has revolutionized the classification of birds and pinpointed New Guinea and
Australia as the motherland of the world’s most prominent bird lineage, the songbirds (oscine
passerines). In light of these changes, a new edition of Birds of New Guinea is timely.
A book must suit the purposes of the people using it. In many parts of the world—A ustralia, Europe,
North America— field guides to birds are written mainly for birders (bird- watchers). These books
focus solely on how to identify birds to species, how to tell the age and sex of a bird, and how and
where to find it. Readers wishing to learn more about birds can turn to other books for information
on bird natural history, ecology, reproduction, evolution, geographic variation, classification, and
conservation. Unfortunately, much of this information on New Guinea birds can be found only in
technical literature that is not readily available.
It is our wish that readers in the field have more basic information at their fingertips. In the new
edition of Birds of New Guinea, we have expanded the content of the species accounts to include
more biological details— behavior, diet, nesting— than are typically covered in a field guide. As for
the identification purpose of the book, we have also expanded the species accounts in this second
edition to explain how to determine the sex and age of a bird, and how geographic variation is
partitioned into subspecies (races). To accomplish all this, we have adopted a “handbook-s tyle”
format for the book. Rather than fitting all the information opposite the painted plates—the format
typical of most recent field guides—our book presents detailed species accounts in the body of the
book separate from the illustrations in the front, with abridged species accounts and maps facing
the plates. We hope this additional information will be of use to birders, tour guides, biologists, and
conservationists who enjoy New Guinea birds and strive to learn more about them.
Changes have been made in authorship and artwork in the second edition. This time the book has
two authors, rather than three. We want to take this opportunity to express our deep appreciation
to Dale A. Zimmerman, coauthor and principal artist of the first edition. In many respects, Dale
was the “senior partner” who freely offered guidance to the two younger authors embarking on
their first major book. We also wish to acknowledge Brian Finch and the late Harry Bell, whose text
contributions in the first edition have been brought in one form or another to the new edition. Jared
Diamond’s descriptions of vocalizations were similarly carried over to the new edition. The text for
the new edition has been drafted solely by us (Pratt and Beehler). Early drafts were reviewed and
improved by an expert panel that included David Bishop, Brian Coates, Jared Diamond, and Mary
LeCroy. These colleagues each contributed knowledge gained over a lifetime of study of the birdlife
of New Guinea.
Expanding the scope of the book demanded new artwork, and for that we turned to John Anderton,
known for his work in Birds of South Asia. Together, authors and artist drew up a plate plan that
more than doubled the number of figures and resulted in replacing nearly all original artwork.
John painted the majority of the plates. John’s observations on bird plumages at the American
Museum of Natural History have clarified numerous uncertainties and even made some
unexpected discoveries. Toward the end of the project we recruited Szabolcs Kókay to illustrate
the shorebirds, fruit- doves, bowerbird bowers, and birds of paradise. James Coe granted
permission to use the original tern- and- gull plate in combination with new figures by Szabolcs.
9