Voice
A series of strong whistles, the first being loudest with a longer, sharper ending, follwed by several lower, more abrupt, descending, notes, 'wheeeit-whit-whut, wheeeit-whit-whut', 'wht-wheeeit-whit-wht'.
Nest
Cup-shaped, composed of bark and fibre, lined with fibre and fine rootlets, usually suspended from a horizontal fork of a tree up to 16 meters above the ground.
Eggs (Guide)
2; smooth, pale flesh, sprinkled sparsely with red-purple spots, particularly at the larger end; oval; about 27 x 17 mm. Incubation: 13 - 16 days; by female.
Young
Fledge in 10 - 14 days.
Subspecies
Subspecies intergrade where they meet, and several proposed subspecies appear to be from zones of intergradation.
The following 13 subspecies are recognised:
flaviventer (Lesson, 1828) - Salawati and Misool (West Papuan Is), and north-western New Guinea Vogelkop.
fusciventris Salvadori, 1876 - Waigeo and Batanta, in West Papuan Is.
meyerii Salvadori, 1876 - Yapen I, in Geelvink Bay (north-western New Guinea).
philemon Stresemann, 1921 - Northern New Guinea from Mamberamo R east to Huon Peninsula.
madaraszi (Rothschild & Hartert, 1903) - North-eastern New Guinea (east from Astrolabe Bay to Huon Peninsula and Markham Valley, south to Wau).
saturatior (Rothschild & Hartert, 1903) - Aru Is, southern New Guinea (from Mimika R east to Fly R and Gulf of Papua), and islands in northern Torres Strait (including Saibai, Boigu and Daru).
visi (Hartert, 1896) - Southern and south-eastern New Guinea east from Huon Gulf and Gulf of Papua to about Milne Bay.
spilogaster (Ogilvie-Grant, 1896) - Trobriand Is and D’Entrecasteaux Archipelago (including Goodenough, Fergusson and Normanby), off south-eastern New Guinea.
filiger (Gould, 1851) - North-eastern Queensland (Cape York Peninsula south to about Edward R in west and to McIlwraith Range-Rocky R-Silver Plains Station in east), in north-eastern Australia.
rubiensis (Meyer, 1884) - West-central New Guinea.
tararae Salomonsen, 1966 - Coastal southern New Guinea (lower Digul River to Fly River).
giulianettii (Mayr, 1931) - South-eastern New Guinea (Hall Sound to Port Moresby).
kumusii (Mayr, 1931) - Northern coast of south-eastern New Guinea (Collingwood Bay to Aicora River).
The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9
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BirdLife International Species Factsheet