| Anthornis | |
|---|---|
| |
| New Zealand bellbird (Anthornis melanura) | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Meliphagidae |
| Genus: | Anthornis G.R. Gray, 1840 |
| Type species | |
| The New Zealand bellbird (Anthornis melanura)[1] | |
| Species | |
Anthornis is a bird genus in the honeyeater family (Meliphagidae). Its members are called bellbirds. According to genetic data, it is a sister genus to Prosthemadera.[2]
It contains the following species:
- New Zealand bellbird, Anthornis melanura
- Chatham Islands bellbird, Anthornis melanocephala (extinct)[3]
They are named bellbirds because their call sounds like a bell. Young male bellbirds copy the calls of neighbouring older males. Sometimes two males can sing in almost perfect unison because one has been copying the other.
- ^ "Checklist of the Birds of New Zealand" (PDF) (5th ed.). Wellington: Ornithological Society of New Zealand. 2022. p. 203-204.
- ^ Higgins, P; Christidis, L; Ford, H (2020). del Hoyo, J; Elliott, A; Sargatal, J; Christie, D. A.; Juana, E. (eds.). "New Zealand Bellbird (Anthornis melanura)". Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. doi:10.2173/bow.nezbel1.01. S2CID 216316169.
- ^ Bartle, J. A.; Sagar, P. M. (1987). "Intraspecific variation in the New Zealand bellbird Anthornis melanura" (PDF). Notornis. 34: 253–306. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-07-09. Retrieved 2019-12-03.