Obscure Berrypecker

The obscure berrypecker is a small passerine bird from the berrypecker family Melanocharitidae. It was described by the German ornithologist Friedrich Finsch based on a specimen collected on the island of New Guinea ; collected in 1867 in the Arfak Mountains. Another specimen was collected in 1933 in the mountains northwest of Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea, these two specimens are the only confirmed records of the species. Unconfirmed sight records have been made in regions of New Guinea; these suggest that the species is not rare, and is a resident of disturbed forest, able to cope with human modification of its habitat. All these sightings were all made in the mountains, which is consistent with the range of the rest of the berrypeckers, only the black berrypecker has a lowland range.