Wattled ploughbill facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Wattled ploughbill |
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| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Eulacestoma
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| Species: |
nigropectus
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The wattled ploughbill (Eulacestoma nigropectus) is a small, unique bird found only in New Guinea. It's special because it's the only member of its kind, both in its group (called a genus) and its family. People sometimes call it the wattled shrike-tit or ploughshare tit.
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What is a Wattled Ploughbill?
This bird is quite small, usually about 12.5 to 14 centimeters (5 to 5.5 inches) long. It weighs around 19 to 22 grams, which is about the same as a few quarters.
What Does It Look Like?
The wattled ploughbill has olive-brown feathers. It has a strong, thick, black beak shaped like a wedge. This special beak helps it find food.
Male and female wattled ploughbills look different:
- The male has a bright, almost golden forehead.
- His chest and belly are black.
- His wings are black, but he has golden patches on his shoulders.
- The male also has two large, round, pink skin flaps on his cheeks. These are called wattles.
- The female has olive-green feathers all over. Her underside is a lighter, pale olive color.
- Only the adult male has the pink wattles.
Where Does It Live?
The wattled ploughbill lives only in the central mountain ranges of New Guinea. This means it is endemic to that area. You won't find it naturally anywhere else in the world!
What Does It Eat and Do?
This bird mainly eats insects. It looks for food from the ground up to about 10 meters (33 feet) high in the forest. It searches in the lower and middle parts of the trees.
Wattled ploughbills especially like to find food in areas with lots of bamboo. They look for insects on branches and twigs. They can pick insects off the surface or even pull off bark to find hidden prey. These birds often join mixed-species feeding flocks. This means they team up with other types of birds to find food together.
Is It Endangered?
The wattled ploughbill is found across a large area. Because of this, experts say it is a species of "least concern" on the IUCN Red List. This means it is not currently at high risk of disappearing.
