saddleback

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saddleback

bird

Also known as: Creadion carunculatus, Philesturnus carunculatus, tieke

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Also called:: Tieke

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saddleback, (Creadion, sometimes Philesturnus, carunculatus), rare songbird of the family Callaeidae (Callaeatidae) of order Passeriformes, which survives on a few small islands off New Zealand. Its 25-cm (10-inch) body is black except for the reddish brown back (“saddle”), and it has yellow or orange wattles at the corners of the mouth.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Richard Pallardy.