New Guinea Erythrura parrotfinches: one species or two?

Abstract

Two species of Erythrura parrotfinches, differing mainly in bill size, are described from the New Guinea highlands: Blue-faced Parrotfinch E. trichroa and Papuan Parrotfinch E. papuana. Morphological measurements from museum specimens support two non-overlapping groups, but mitochondrial DNA sequence data show negligible differences between the two species. These observations suggest that E. trichroa and E. papuana may form a single species in the highlands of New Guinea that exhibits a resource-based bill size polymorphism.