Tuesday 16 June 2009

Naked-headed Dandruff

The identity of the mystery bird, well, of course Darren's right, it's the Bornean Bristlehead (Pityriasis gymnocephala). A bird of unknown affinities among the Passeriformes (perching birds), and a rather ugly-looking one too. It gets its common name from the fact that its bald red head is covered in fine bristles, quite unlike any other bird feathers. It is endemic to the island of Borneo and is currently classified in its own family, Pityriaseidae. It shares its generic name Pityriasis with the name of several types of skin disorder, including pityriasis rosea. The origin of the word is from the Greek for 'dandruff'.

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