Derivation
Dïcae'-um - Gk, dicairon, an Indian bird: geelvinkianum - Dutch, geel, yellow, vink or fink, finch (found on islands in Geelvink Bay, New Guinea by Dutch explorers)
Red-capped Flowerpecker (Dicaeum geelvinkianum) [XC36366]
by Iain Woxvold from 'Warili Lodge' near Tari, Southern Highlands, Papua New Guinea (call)
Red-capped Flowerpecker (Dicaeum geelvinkianum) [XC156068]
by Hans Matheve from Nimbokrang, Indonesia (song)
Breeding Season (Guide)
Does not breed in Australia.
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Nest
Neat, pear-shaped, with a slit-shaped side-entrance, composed of plant fiber, thickly bound with cobweb, usually suspended from a slender branch of a leafy tree in the foliage canopy.
Other proposed subspecies include simillimum (described from Hollandia, on northern New Guinea coast) included in diversum, jobiense (Yapen I) merged into nominate, and pulchrium (Astrolabe Mts, in south-east), merged with rubrocoronatum.
The following 11 subspecies are recognised:
maforense Salvadori, 1876 - Numfor I (Geelvink Bay), in
north-western New Guinea.
misoriense Salvadori, 1876 - Biak I (Geelvink Bay).
geelvinkianum Meyer, 1874 - Yapen I and Kurudu I
(Geelvink Bay).
diversum Rothschild & Hartert, 1903 - Northern New
Guinea (Mamberano R to Humboldt Bay).
setekwa Rand, 1941 - South-western New Guinea (southern slopes of Snow Mts
east to Noord R).
obscurifrons Junge, 1952 - West-central New Guinea (Wissel L, to
Neast of Etna Bay).
centrale Rand, 1941 - West-central New Guinea (Balim R Valley in
Nassau Mts and Oranje Mts).
rubrigulare D'Albertis & Salvadori, 1879 - S
New Guinea (Palmer Junction to mouth of Fly R).
albopunctatum D'Albertis & Salvadori, 1879 -
lowlands of south-central New Guinea (Merauke and Dagul R east to Daru I and Orioma
R).
rubrocoronatum Sharpe, 1876 - South-eastern New Guinea (west to upper
Sepik R and Purari R, including Karkar I and Manam I).
violaceum Mayr, 1936 - D’Entrecasteaux Archipelago
(Fergusson, Goodenough, Dobu), off south-eastern New Guinea.
Similar Species
Mistletoebird (Dicaeum hirundinaceum) which lacks a red cap, the male has a black breast streak and has much darker blue-black upper parts.
Compare Images
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
BirdLife International Species Factsheet