Philemon
Eighteen species, eight of which are represented in the Zoochat galleries.
Formerly the White-streaked Friarbird
Melitograis gilolensis was also included within this genus.
There is no difference in plumage between the sexes of the friarbirds.
Manus or White-naped Friarbird Philemon albitorques
Monotypic.
Endemic to Manus Island in the Bismarck Archipelago, east of New Guinea.
There are no photos of this species in the Zoochat galleries.
Silver-crowned Friarbird Philemon argenticeps
Two subspecies:
argenticeps and
kempi
Endemic to Australia, with
argenticeps from northeast Western Australia to northwest Queensland, and
kempi on the Cape York Peninsula.
Photo by
@Terry Thomas in the wild, Australia (subspecies
argenticeps).
Silver-crowned friarbird - ZooChat
Brass' Friarbird Philemon brassi
Monotypic.
Restricted to the Mamberamo Basin in northwestern New Guinea.
There are no photos of this species in the Zoochat galleries.
Helmeted Friarbird Philemon buceroides
Four subspecies:
ammitophilus, buceroides, gordoni, neglectus. The subspecies
yorki of northeastern Australia has been split as a full species (Hornbill Friarbird), which I have followed for the purposes of this thread although the split is not universally recognised. The remaining subspecies seem likely to also be split in the future into an Australian species (including the two subspecies
ammitophilus and
gordoni) and a Lesser Sunda species (including the two subspecies
buceroides and
neglectus). Other subspecies have also been recognised in the past.
Found in northern Australia and the Lesser Sundas (Indonesia), with
ammitophilus in the interior of the Northern Territory;
buceroides in the Lesser Sundas from Sawu to Wetar and Timor;
gordoni in coastal Northern Territory and on Melville Island (in the Tiwi Islands); and
neglectus in the Lesser Sundas from Lombok to Flores.
Photos in the Zoochat galleries from Australia are all of the split species (Hornbill Friarbird
P. yorki). There are no photos of wild birds from Indonesia. All other photos are of captive birds in European zoos (and one Indonesian zoo) which are likely to be subspecies from the Lesser Sundas rather than the Australian ones.
Photo by
@KevinVar at Zoo Praha (Prague Zoo), Czech Republic (probably the subspecies
buceroides on appearance).
Helmeted friarbird - ZooChat
Photo by
@Vision at Gembira Loka Zoo, Indonesia (probably the subspecies
neglectus on appearance, this also being the subspecies which reaches as far west into Indonesia as the island of Lombok).
Helmeted friarbird, Philemon buceroides - ZooChat
Little Friarbird Philemon citreogularis
Three subspecies:
citreogularis, papuensis, sordidus. The subspecies
kisserensis of the Lesser Sundas has been split as a full species.
The specific name
citreogularis comes from the yellow throat of juvenile birds, a colouration which is not a feature of adult birds at all.
Found in Australia and southern New Guinea, with
citreogularis in eastern Australia from the Cape York Peninsula to southeastern South Australia and northern Victoria;
papuensis in the Trans-Fly region of southern New Guinea; and
sordidus across the top of Australia from northeastern Western Australia to northwest Queensland.
Photo by
@Hix in the wild, Australia (adult bird of the eastern Australian subspecies
citreogularis).
Little Friarbird - ZooChat
Photo by
@WhistlingKite24 in the wild, Australia (immature bird of the eastern Australian subspecies
citreogularis - note the yellow on the throat and the scalloping on the back).
Little Friarbird - ZooChat
Photo by
@Terry Thomas in the wild, Australia (juvenile bird of the northern Australian subspecies
sordidus).
juvenile Little Friarbird - ZooChat
Photo by
@Maguari at Zoo Wuppertal, Germany - photos of the birds kept in European zoos do not look much like Australian birds, but presumably are either the New Guinea subspecies
papuanus or perhaps more likely the split species
P. kisserensis.
Little Friarbird at Wuppertal, 16/06/19 - ZooChat
New Britain Friarbird Philemon cockerelli
Two subspecies:
cockerelli and
umboi
Found on the islands of New Britain and Duke of York (
cockerelli) and Umboi (
umboi), in the Bismarck Archipelago (east of New Guinea).
There are no photos of this species in the Zoochat galleries.
Noisy Friarbird Philemon corniculatus
Two subspecies:
corniculatus and
monachus
Found in eastern Australia and southern New Guinea:
corniculatus in the Trans-Fly region of southern New Guinea, and Australia's Cape York Peninsula; and
monachus in eastern Australia from Queensland to Victoria.
Photo by
@WhistlingKite24 in the wild, Australia (eastern Australian subspecies
monachus).
Noisy Friarbird - ZooChat
Photo by
@WhistlingKite24 at Featherdale Wildlife Park, Australia, showing the throat ruff.
Noisy Friarbird - ZooChat
Photo by
@TheoV at Bali Zoo, Indonesia (presumably the New Guinea subspecies
corniculatus).
Noisy friarbird [2016] - ZooChat
