Birds · Passeriformes · Melanocharitidae

Slaty-headed Longbill

Toxorhamphus poliopterus

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

The slaty-headed longbill is a small olive bird of New Guinea, with a long, curved bill adapted to the tubular flowers of the understorey. It belongs to the Melanocharitidae, a small family endemic to New Guinea and neighbouring islands whose relationships with the rest of the birds have only recently been clarified.

Weight

12 g – 18 g

Size

12 cm – 14 cm

Lifespan

8 years

Diet

Nectarivore

Feeds mainly on flower nectar.

Activity

Diurnal

Active mainly during the day.

Social structure

Solitary

Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

RainforestMountainNectarivore Diurnal Solitary Bird Rainforest Mountain

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Fun facts

It belongs to a family endemic to New Guinea with only a handful of species, whose place in the bird family tree remained uncertain until genetic analyses placed it close to the Australian pardalotes.
Its curved bill lets it exploit tubular understorey flowers that the region's sunbirds and honeyeaters cannot reach, a little-contested niche.
New Guinea, with less than one per cent of the world's land surface, holds close to five per cent of the world's bird species, and whole families like this one exist nowhere else.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bird)
Habitat & environment: Understorey and middle storey of montane rainforest in New Guinea
Sexual maturity: 12 months
Gestation / incubation: 15 days of incubation
Litter / clutch size: 2 eggs

Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toxorhamphus_poliopterus