White-bellied whipbird facts for kids
Quick facts for kids White-bellied whipbird |
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Scientific classification | |
Genus: |
Psophodes
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Species: |
leucogaster
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The white-bellied whipbird (Psophodes leucogaster), also known as the Mallee whipbird, is a type of bird. It belongs to the Psophodidae family. This bird is special because it is found only in southern Australia. When an animal or plant is found only in one specific place, we say it is endemic to that area.
What is the White-bellied Whipbird?
Scientists group living things into categories based on how they are related. This is called taxonomy. The white-bellied whipbird was once thought to be a type of subspecies of another bird, the Psophodes nigrogularis. This other bird was known as the western whipbird. Because of this, the white-bellied whipbird also shared the name "western whipbird" for a while.
To help tell them apart, a famous list of birds called the Clements Checklist sometimes calls this bird the western whipbird (white-bellied). This helps people know it's different from the P. nigrogularis, which is also called the black-throated whipbird.
How Scientists Identified This Bird
The white-bellied whipbird was first described by two Australian bird experts, Frank Howe and John Ross, in 1933. For many years, it was considered a part of the black-throated whipbird group.
However, in 2017, scientists did a new study. They looked at the mitochondrial DNA of these birds. DNA is like a special instruction book inside every living thing. By comparing the DNA, they found enough differences to decide that the white-bellied whipbird was its own unique species. This means it was "split" from the black-throated whipbird.
Different Types of White-bellied Whipbirds
Today, scientists recognize two main types, or subspecies, of the white-bellied whipbird:
- P. l. leucogaster Howe & Ross, JA, 1933 – This type lives in south-central Australia.
- P. l. lashmari Mason, IJ & Schodde, 1991 – This type is found on Kangaroo Island, which is an island off the coast of Southern Australia.