The cardinal myzomela (Myzomela cardinalis) is a species of
bird in the
honeyeater family Meliphagidae. It is named for the scarlet color of the male. It is found in
American Samoa,
New Caledonia,
Samoa,
Solomon Islands, and
Vanuatu. Its natural
habitats are
subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest and subtropical or tropical
mangrove forest.[1] It frequents areas with flowers, such as gardens. This is a small, active bird, measuring about 13 cm (5.1 in) from bill to tail.[2] Males are red and black in coloration, females are grayish-olive, sometimes with a red cap or red head. Its long, curved bill is especially adapted for reaching into flowers for nectar.[3]
Taxonomy
The cardinal myzomela was
formally described in 1788 by the German naturalist
Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of
Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. He placed it with the treecreepers in the
genusCerthia and coined the
binomial nameCerthia cardinalis.[4][5] Gmelin based his description on the "cardinal creeper" that had been described and illustrated in 1782 by the English ornithologist
John Latham in his book A General Synopsis of Birds. Latham had access to a specimen in the
Leverian Museum that had been brought to London from the island of
Tanna in
Vanuata in the South Pacific Ocean.[6] The cardinal myzomela is now one of 40 honeyeaters placed in the genus Myzomela that was introduced in 1827 by
Nicholas Vigors and
Thomas Horsfield.[7]
^Craig, P.
"Natural History Guide to American Samoa"(PDF). National Park of American Samoa, Department Marine and Wildlife Resources, American Samoa Community College. Retrieved 15 January 2010.
^Paynter, Raymond A. Jr, ed. (1986).
Check-list of Birds of the World. Vol. 12. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 359.
^Latham, John (1782). A General Synopsis of Birds. Vol. 1, Part 2. London: Printed for Leigh and Sotheby. p.
733, No. 35; Plate
33, Fig. 2.
^
abGill, Frank; Donsker, David;
Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (January 2023).
"Honeyeaters". IOC World Bird List Version 13,1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 23 March 2023.