Mistletoebird
Dicaeum hirundinaceum (Shaw, 1792)
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The mistletoebird (Dicaeum hirundinaceum), also known as the mistletoe flowerpecker, is a species of flowerpecker native to most of Australia (though absent from Tasmania and the driest desert areas) and also to the eastern Maluku Islands of Indonesia in the Arafura Sea between Australia and New Guinea. The mistletoebird eats mainly the berries of the parasitic mistletoe and is a vector for the spread of the mistletoe's seeds through its digestive system.
Wikipedia contributors, Mistletoebird; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T01:23:44.949133+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Dicaeum hirundinaceum (Shaw, 1792)
- Name authority
- (Shaw, 1792)
- Common name
- Mistletoebird
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Dicaeidae
- Genus
- Dicaeum
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyDicaeidae Bonaparte, 1853
- genusDicaeum Cuvier, 1816
- speciesDicaeum hirundinaceum (Shaw, 1792)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Dicaeum. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Buzzing FlowerpeckerDicaeum hypoleucum Sharpe, 1876 | DicaeidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Black-fronted FlowerpeckerDicaeum igniferum Wallace, 1864 | DicaeidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Fire-breasted FlowerpeckerDicaeum ignipectus (Blyth, 1843) | DicaeidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Blue-cheeked FlowerpeckerDicaeum maugei Lesson, 1830 | DicaeidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Crimson-crowned FlowerpeckerDicaeum nehrkorni W. Blasius, 1886 | DicaeidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Olive-capped FlowerpeckerDicaeum nigrilore Hartert, 1904 | DicaeidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Pygmy FlowerpeckerDicaeum pygmaeum (Kittlitz, 1833) | DicaeidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Scarlet-collared FlowerpeckerDicaeum retrocinctum Gould, 1872 | DicaeidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| White-mottled FlowerpeckerDicaeum tristrami Sharpe, 1884 | DicaeidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Legge's FlowerpeckerDicaeum vincens (P. L. Sclater, 1872) | DicaeidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Dicaeum virescens Hume, 1873 | DicaeidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Ashy FlowerpeckerDicaeum vulneratum Wallace, 1863 | DicaeidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=559733 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:35HV2. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.