The Mottled-breasted Pitohui Pitohui incertus

Abstract

We report observations of Pitohui incertus, one of the least-known species of bird endemic to New Guinea, along the upper Fly River. Previous knowledge was based on its having been collected three times but no field observations had been reported. P. incertus occurs in parties of three to six inside the dense lower canopy of annually flooded lowland forest on flat terrain. The song is a striking duet and the call resembles that of King Bird-of-Paradise Cicinnurus regius. P. incertus may associate with mixed flocks of babblers, other pitohuis, drongos and birds-of-paradise and its plumage and call may be conver- gent with those of some other members of these flocks. It may be confined to the flood-plain of southern New Guinea in areas where annual rainfall exceeds 3,750 millimetres.