Henicopernis

Henicopernis is a genus of bird of prey in the family Accipitridae.

Henicopernis
Long-tailed Honey Buzzard (Henicopernis longicauda)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Accipitriformes
Family:	Accipitridae
Subfamily:	Perninae
Genus:	Henicopernis G.R. Gray, 1859
Type species
Falco longicauda[1] Lesson & Garnot, 1828

Species

It contains the following species:^[2]

Image	Common Name	Scientific name	Distribution
	Black honey buzzard	Henicopernis infuscatus	the Bismarck archipelago in Papua New Guinea.
	Long-tailed honey buzzard	Henicopernis longicauda	New Guinea

Both species are endemic to New Guinea. Genetic research has found that they are closely related to the Australian endemic square-tailed kite (Lophoictinia isura) and black-breasted buzzard (Hamirostra melanosternon), all sharing a 3-base-pair deletion in the RAG-1 gene. The four species form a monophyletic clade sister to Aviceda within the subfamily Perninae. It has been proposed that they could be united into a single genus, Hamirostra having precedence.^[3]

References

1. "Accipitridae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-07-26.
2. "ITIS Report: Henicopernis". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 5 February 2010.
3. Barrowclough, George F.; Groth, Jeff G.; Lai, Jonas E.; Tsang, Susan M. (March 2014). "The Phylogenetic Relationships of the Endemic Genera of Australo-Papuan Hawks". Journal of Raptor Research. 48 (1): 36–43. doi:10.3356/JRR-13-33.1. S2CID 84681962. (open access)