Yellow-throated whistler

The yellow-throated whistler, or Banda Sea whistler, is a species of bird in the family Pachycephalidae. It is endemic to central and south-eastern Wallacea, where it ranges from Timor east to the Tanimbars and north to Seram and Banggai. The oriole whistler is sometimes alternatively called the yellow-throated whistler, leading to confusion between both species.

Taxonomy and systematics

The yellow-throated whistler was originally described in the genus Myiolestes. The yellow-throated whistler is variably considered as either a subspecies of the Australian golden whistler or treated as a separate species, but strong published evidence in favour of either treatment is limited, and further study is warranted to resolve the complex taxonomic situation.

Subspecies

Five subspecies are recognized:P. m. fuscoflava Sclater, PL, 1883 – Tanimbar Islands P. m. macrorhyncha Strickland, 1849 – Seram and Ambon P. m. buruensis Hartert, EJO, 1899 – Buru P. m. clio Wallace, 1863 – Sula Islands P. m. pelengensis Neumann, 1941 – Banggai Island
The Baliem whistler and the Babar whistler were formerly considered as a subspecies. The subspecies par and compar have been moved to the fawn-breasted whistler based on phylogenetic analyses.

Description

Among the members of the golden whistler group, the yellow-throated whistler is bordered to the north by the black-chinned whistler, to the west by the rusty-breasted whistler, and to the south by the Australian golden whistler. The only subspecies of the yellow-throated whistler where the male is yellow-throated is fuscoflava from the Tanimbar Islands. Males of other subspecies are white-throated.