The Taxonomic Affinity of the New Guinean Magpie Gymnorhina tibicen papuana

Abstract

The New Guinean Magpie Gymnorhina tibicen papuana is distinctive in several ways, especially in the exceptionally large bill, which is both longer and deeper than in other forms. In dorsal plumage it is similar to the Western Magpie G.t. dorsalis but in other characters it resembles the long-billed form of the Black-backed Magpie G.t. longirostris of north-western Australia. Little is known of its behaviour, calls, nesting, eggs and social organization.

The New Guinean and long-billed Magpies may have been derived from a common stock, which was isolated in a northern refuge during an arid phase of the Pleistocene.