Blyth's Shrike-babbler
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The white-browed shrike-babbler (''Pteruthius aeralatus'') is a
bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...
species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...
found in the eastern Himalayas and Southeast Asia from northern Burma to southern Cambodia. Like others in the genus it is found in montane forests. Males and females have different plumages and variations occur through its range with several populations being treated as subspecies. It is part of a
cryptic species complex In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...
and was earlier lumped as a
subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...
of the white-browed shrike-babbler. Clements lumps this bird into the white-browed shrike-babbler.


Description

The white-browed shrike-babbler is sexually dimorphic. There are many variations between the populations and some are more distinctive than others but they may not be easy to diagnose in the field. In general appearance it is very similar to the Himalayan shrike-babbler but all subspecies with the exception of ''validirostris'' have the tertials of males partly coloured rufous and partly fulvous. The common name commemorates
Edward Blyth Edward Blyth (23 December 1810 – 27 December 1873) was an English zoologist who worked for most of his life in India as a curator of zoology at the Asiatic Society, Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal in Calcutta. He set about updating the museum ...
(1810–1873), who published the description and notes based on
Samuel Tickell Colonel Samuel Richard Tickell (19 August 1811 – 20 April 1875) was an English soldier, artist, linguist and ornithologist in India and Burma. Biography Tickell was born at Cuttack in India to Captain Samuel Tickell (of the 8th regiment of th ...
's specimen. It was earlier called Tickell's shrike-Tit.


Taxonomy

The species ''Pteruthius aeralatus'' was described by Edward Blyth who credited the name to collector Captain
Samuel Tickell Colonel Samuel Richard Tickell (19 August 1811 – 20 April 1875) was an English soldier, artist, linguist and ornithologist in India and Burma. Biography Tickell was born at Cuttack in India to Captain Samuel Tickell (of the 8th regiment of th ...
. This and several other species were later lumped together as subspecies of ''Pteruthius flaviscapis''. In 2008, a molecular phylogenetic study resulted in splitting the ''flaviscapis'' group into nine species by application of the
phylogenetic species concept A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of classification and ...
and these were subsequently reorganized into four species using the
biological species concept A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of classification and ...
, with three of these being lumped into the species currently recognised as the white-browed shrike-babbler. * The nominate form ''P. a. aeralatus '' described by Blyth in 1855 occurs in Burma and western Thailand. * ''P. a. validirostris'' described by Koelz, 1951 is found from parts of eastern Nepal to western Burma. This includes the forms ''nocrecus'' and ''glauconotus'' which were also described by Koelz (who was known for being a "splitter"). * ''P. a. ricketti'' described by Ogilvie-Grant in 1904 is found from northeastern Burma to southeast China and parts of Indochina. * ''P. a. schauenseei'' described by Deignan in 1946 is found in southern Thailand * ''P. a. cameranoi'' described by Salvadori in 1879 is found in the Malay Peninsula and on the island of Sumatra. * ''P. a. robinsoni'' described by Chasen & Kloss in 1931 is found in Borneo. * ''P. a. ripleyi'' described by Biswas in 1960 is found in the western Himalayas east to central Nepal. * ''P. a. annamensis'' described by Robinson & Kloss in 1919 is found in southern Vietnam.


References


External links


Images of type of ''P. aeralatus validirostris''
Blyth's shrike-babbler Birds of the Himalayas Birds of Northeast India Birds of South China Birds of Southeast Asia Blyth's shrike-babbler Blyth's shrike-babbler {{Vireonidae-stub