NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Norfolk Gerygone
Gerygone modesta Pelzeln, 1860
Source-backed taxonomic record
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.
Gerygone modesta, Burnt Pine 2899, Norfolk Island, 2023-03-02 (iNaturalist).
Euan Moore · CC BY 4.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Norfolk gerygone (Gerygone modesta) is a species of bird in the Australian warbler family Acanthizidae. It is endemic to Norfolk Island. This species was once lumped with the grey gerygone of New Zealand and the extinct Lord Howe gerygone as a single species. Genetic studies have shown that the grey and Norfolk gerygones are sister species, and they are still treated as a single species by some authorities. The Norfolk gerygone is a small bird, measuring 9.5 to 12.3 cm (3.7–4.8 in) in length and weighing around 9 g (0.32 oz). It has an olive-brown head, grey face and a greyish throat turning whitish as it reaches the breast and underparts. Its eyes are red to red-brown, and the bill, which is larger than that of the related grey gerygone, is black. The sexes are alike, and young birds look much like adults with yellow wash on the face and underparts, a duller eye and a lighter bill. Its natural habitats are subtropical moist lowland forests, gardens and pastureland, where it feeds on insects.
Wikipedia contributors, Norfolk gerygone; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T05:29:51.105901+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Gerygone modesta Pelzeln, 1860
- Name authority
- Pelzeln, 1860
- Common name
- Norfolk Gerygone
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Acanthizidae
- Genus
- Gerygone
- 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
- familyAcanthizidae Bonaparte, 1854
- genusGerygone Gould, 1841
- speciesGerygone modesta Pelzeln, 1860
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Gerygone. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Green-backed GerygoneGerygone chloronota Gould, 1843 | AcanthizidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Fan-tailed GerygoneGerygone flavolateralis (G. R. Gray, 1859) | AcanthizidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Western GerygoneGerygone fusca (Gould, 1838) | AcanthizidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Lord Howe GerygoneGerygone insularis E. P. Ramsay, 1878 | AcanthizidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extinct |
| Large-billed GerygoneGerygone magnirostris Gould, 1843 | AcanthizidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Brown GerygoneGerygone mouki Mathews, 1912 | AcanthizidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| White-throated GerygoneGerygone olivacea (Gould, 1838) | AcanthizidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Fairy GerygoneGerygone palpebrosa Wallace, 1865 | AcanthizidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Brown-breasted GerygoneGerygone ruficollis Salvadori, 1876 | AcanthizidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Golden-bellied GerygoneGerygone sulphurea Wallace, 1864 | AcanthizidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Dusky GerygoneGerygone tenebrosa (R. Hall, 1901) | AcanthizidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Mangrove GerygoneGerygone levigaster Gould, 1843 | AcanthizidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Gerygone igata modesta Pelzeln, 1860 Pelzeln, 1860 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
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.
- von Pelzeln, & August. (1860). Zur ornithologie der insel Norfolk. Sitzungsberichte Der Kaiserlichen Akademie Der Wissenschaften. Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Classe, Vol. 41. 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.
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:3FXNG. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.