Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris
| Eastern spinebill | |
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| male | |
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| female | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Meliphagidae |
| Genus: | Acanthorhynchus |
| Species: | A. tenuirostris |
| Binomial name | |
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Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris (Latham, 1801) |
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| Subspecies | |
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Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris cairnsensis |
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Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris cairnsensis
Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris dubius
Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris halmaturinus
Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris tenuirostris
The eastern spinebill (Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris) is a species of honeyeater found in south-eastern Australia in forest and woodland areas, as well as gardens in urban areas of Canberra, Sydney and Melbourne. It is around 15 cm long, and has a distinctive black, white and chestnut plumage, a red eye, and a long downcurved bill.
Originally described as Certhia tenuirostris by the English ornithologist John Latham in 1801, it is a member of the small genus Acanthorhynchus with one other, the western spinebill of Western Australia. The generic name is derived from the Greek translation of its common name, namely acantho-/ακανθο- "spine" and rhynchos/ρυνχος "bill". Its specific name is from Latin tenuis "narrow" and rostrum "billed". Other English names include spine-billed honeyeater and awl-bird or cobbler’s awl bird. The eastern spinebill is polytypic consisting of the subspecies A. t. cairnsensis, A. t. dubius, A. t. halmaturinus, and the nominate subspecies A. t. tenuirostris.
The eastern spinebill forms a superspecies with the closely related western spinebill. Scientists believe the two sister species are descended from a shared ancestor whose once widespread populations were separated by climate change. During a past period of desertification, that ancestor species retreated to refuges in the south western and south eastern corners of the continent, and evolved into the two present-day spinebill species. Recent DNA studies have shown that the two spinebills belong to a clade which is a sister taxon to all other honeyeaters.
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Wikipedia