''Pachycephala'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of birds native to Oceania and Southeast Asia. They are commonly known as typical whistlers. Older guidebooks may refer to them as thickheads, a literal translation of the generic name, which is derived from the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

terms ''pachys'' "thick" + ''kephale'' "head". This lineage originated in Australo-Papua and later colonized the Indonesian and Philippine archipelagos to the west and the Pacific archipelagos to the east.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Pachycephala'' was introduced in 1825 by the Irish zoologist Nicholas Vigors with the

Australian golden whistler The Australian golden whistler (''Pachycephala pectoralis'') or golden whistler, is a species of bird found in forest, woodland, mallee, mangrove and scrub in Australia (except the interior and most of the north). Most populations are resident, ...

as the

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

. The name is derived from the

''pakhus'' meaning "large" or "thick" and ''kephalē'' meaning "head". The genus contains 53 species: * Olive whistler, ''Pachycephala olivacea'' *

Red-lored whistler The red-lored whistler (''Pachycephala rufogularis'') is one of nine species of whistler occurring in Australia and a member of the family Pachycephalidae which includes whistlers, shrike-thrushes, pitohuis and allies. The limited range of this ...

, ''Pachycephala rufogularis'' *

Gilbert's whistler Gilbert's whistler (''Pachycephala inornata'') is a Monotypic taxon, monotypic species of bird Endemism, endemic to Australia, scattered in Semi-arid climate, semi-arid zones of southern Australia. Taxonomy The family Pachycephalidae originate ...

, ''Pachycephala inornata'' * Mangrove whistler, ''Pachycephala cinerea'' *

Green-backed whistler The green-backed whistler (''Pachycephala albiventris'') or olive-backed whistler, is a species of bird in the family Pachycephalidae. It is endemic to the Philippines. Its natural habitats are tropical moist lowland forest and tropical moist mo ...

, ''Pachycephala albiventris'' *

White-vented whistler The white-vented whistler (''Pachycephala homeyeri'') is a species of bird in the family Pachycephalidae. It is found in the southern Philippines and a few islands of Malaysia. Its natural habitats are tropical moist lowland forest and tropical ...

, ''Pachycephala homeyeri'' * Island whistler, ''Pachycephala phaionota'' * Biak whistler, ''Pachycephala melanorhyncha'' * Rusty whistler, ''Pachycephala hyperythra'' *

Brown-backed whistler The brown-backed whistler (''Pachycephala modesta'') is a species of bird in the family Pachycephalidae endemic to New Guinea. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. Taxonomy and systematics The brown-backed whist ...

, ''Pachycephala modesta'' * Yellow-bellied whistler, ''Pachycephala philippinensis'' * Sulphur-vented whistler, ''Pachycephala sulfuriventer'' * Bornean whistler, ''Pachycephala hypoxantha'' * Vogelkop whistler, ''Pachycephala meyeri'' * Grey whistler, ''Pachycephala simplex'' *

Fawn-breasted whistler The fawn-breasted whistler (''Pachycephala orpheus'') is a species of bird in the family Pachycephalidae. It is found on the islands of Timor and Wetar. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tro ...

, ''Pachycephala orpheus'' * Sclater's whistler, ''Pachycephala soror'' *

Tenggara whistler The Tenggara whistler (''Pachycephala calliope'', previously ''Pachycephala fulvotincta''), also known as the fulvous-tinted whistler and the rusty-breasted whistler, is a species of bird in the family Pachycephalidae. It is endemic to Indonesia, ...

, ''Pachycephala calliope'' (formerly ''P. fulvotincta'' and formerly rusty-breasted whistler) *

Selayar whistler The Selayar whistler (''Pachycephala teysmanni'') is a species of songbird in the family Pachycephalidae. Described by the Swiss zoologist Johann Büttikofer in 1878, it is endemic to the Indonesian island of Selayar, off the southwestern coas ...

, ''Pachycephala teysmanni'' (split from ''P. calliope'') *

Yellow-throated whistler The yellow-throated whistler (''Pachycephala macrorhyncha'') or Banda Sea whistler, is a species of bird in the family Pachycephalidae. It is endemic to central and south-eastern Wallacea, where it ranges from Timor east to the Tanimbars and nor ...

, ''Pachycephala macrorhyncha'' *

Baliem whistler The Baliem whistler or Balim whistler (''Pachycephala balim'') is a species of bird of the whistler family Pachycephalidae that is endemic to New Guinea. Taxonomy and systematics The Baliem whistler was formerly considered as a subspecies of the ...

, ''Pachycephala balim'' *

Black-chinned whistler The black-chinned whistler (''Pachycephala mentalis'') is a species of bird in the family Pachycephalidae, endemic to Halmahera and adjacent smaller islands in North Maluku in Indonesia. Taxonomy and systematics It is variably considered a subsp ...

, ''Pachycephala mentalis'' *

, ''Pachycephala pectoralis'' *

Western whistler The western whistler (''Pachycephala fuliginosa'') is a species of bird in the family Pachycephalidae found in southwest Australia. Prior to 2015, the western whistler was considered as a subspecies of the Australian golden whistler until recogn ...

, ''Pachycephala fuliginosa'' * Bismarck whistler, ''Pachycephala citreogaster'' *

Oriole whistler The oriole whistler (''Pachycephala orioloides''), also known as the yellow-throated whistler (leading to easy confusion with '' Pachycephala macrorhyncha''), is a species of bird in the family Pachycephalidae, which is endemic to the Solomon Isl ...

, ''Pachycephala orioloides'' * Louisiade whistler, ''Pachycephala collaris'' * Rennell whistler, ''Pachycephala feminina'' * Melanesian whistler, ''Pachycephala chlorura'' *

New Caledonian whistler The New Caledonian whistler (''Pachycephala caledonica'') is a species of bird in the family Pachycephalidae. It is endemic to New Caledonia. Taxonomy The New Caledonian whistler was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Fri ...

, ''Pachycephala caledonica'' * White-throated Fiji whistler, ''Pachycephala vitiensis'' (formerly Fiji whistler before split) * Yellow-throated Fiji whistler, ''Pachycephala graeffii'' (split from ''P. vitiensis'') * Nendo whistler, ''Pachycephala ornata'' (split from ''P. vanikorensis'') * Utupua whistler, ''Pachycephala utupuae'' (split from ''P. vanikorensis'') * Vanikoro whistler, ''Pachycephala vanikorensis'' (formerly Temotu whistler before splits) * Tongan whistler, ''Pachycephala jacquinoti'' *

Mangrove golden whistler The mangrove golden whistler (''Pachycephala melanura'') or black-tailed whistler, is a species of bird in the family Pachycephalidae. It is found in mangrove forests and adjacent wet forests of Papua New Guinea and Australia. Subspecies Five su ...

, ''Pachycephala melanura'' *

Samoan whistler The Samoan whistler (''Pachycephala flavifrons''), also known as the yellow-fronted whistler, is a species of bird in the family Pachycephalidae. It is endemic to Samoa, where found in forest, plantations and gardens. Taxonomy The Samoan whistle ...

, ''Pachycephala flavifrons'' * Hooded whistler, ''Pachycephala implicata'' * Bougainville whistler, ''Pachycephala richardsi'' *

Bare-throated whistler The bare-throated whistler (''Pachycephala nudigula'') is a species of bird in the family Pachycephalidae. It is endemic to the Lesser Sundas. Taxonomy and systematics Alternate names for the bare-throated whistler include the Lesser Sunda whist ...

, ''Pachycephala nudigula'' * Lorentz's whistler, ''Pachycephala lorentzi'' * Regent whistler, ''Pachycephala schlegelii'' *

Golden-backed whistler The golden-backed whistler (''Pachycephala aurea'') or yellow-backed whistler, is a species of bird in the family Pachycephalidae. It is found throughout New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua o ...

, ''Pachycephala aurea'' *

Rufous whistler The rufous whistler (''Pachycephala rufiventris'') is a species of whistler found in New Caledonia and Australia. Predominantly a reddish-brown and grey bird, it makes up for its subdued plumage with its song-making ability. Like many other memb ...

, ''Pachycephala rufiventris'' * Black-headed whistler, ''Pachycephala monacha'' * White-bellied whistler, ''Pachycephala leucogastra'' * Babar whistler, ''Pachycephala sharpei'' (split from ''P. macrorhyncha'') * Wallacean whistler, ''Pachycephala arctitorquis'' * Drab whistler, ''Pachycephala griseonota'' * Cinnamon-breasted whistler, ''Pachycephala johni'' *

White-breasted whistler The white-breasted whistler (''Pachycephala lanioides'') is a species of bird in the family Pachycephalidae. It is Endemism, endemic to Australia. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical mangrove forests. Taxonomy and systematics Alternat ...

, ''Pachycephala lanioides'' *

Morningbird The morningbird (''Pachycephala tenebrosa'') is a songbird species in the family Pachycephalidae. Taxonomy and systematics The morningbird was previously placed in the genus ''Colluricincla'' until 2013, when it was transferred to ''Pachycephala ...

, ''Pachycephala tenebrosa''

Former species

Formerly, some authorities also considered the following species (or subspecies) as species within the genus ''Pachycephala'': *

Maroon-backed whistler The maroon-backed whistler (''Coracornis raveni'') is a species of bird in the family Pachycephalidae. It is endemic to Sulawesi, Indonesia. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. Some authorities have classified th ...

(as ''Pachycephala raveni'') * Little shrikethrush (fortis) (as ''Pachycephala fortis'') An unidentified ''Pachycephala'' whistler was heard on May 14, 1994 at 1,000 meters

ASL American Sign Language (ASL) is a natural language that serves as the predominant sign language of Deaf communities in the United States and most of Anglophone Canada. ASL is a complete and organized visual language that is expressed by employ ...

south of the summit of

Camiguin Camiguin, officially the Province of Camiguin (; ; Kamigin: ''Probinsya ta Kamigin''), is an island province in the Philippines located in the Bohol Sea, about off the northern coast of mainland Mindanao. It is geographically part of Region ...

in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

, where the genus was not previously known to occur. It might have been an undescribed

taxon In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; : taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular name and ...

, or simply a vagrant of a known species.Balete, Danilo S.; Tabaranza, Blas R. Jr. & Heaney, Lawrence R. (2006
An Annotated Checklist of the Birds of Camiguin Island, Philippines
'' Fieldiana Zool. New Series'' 106: 58–72.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2303843 Bird genera