''Poecilodryas'' 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 ...

passerine A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped') which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines generally have an anisodactyl arrangement of their ...

birds in the Australasian robin family

Petroicidae The bird family Petroicidae includes 51 species in 19 genera. All are endemic to Australasia: New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand and numerous Pacific Islands as far east as Samoa. For want of an accurate common name, the family is often called th ...

. The genus was erected by the English ornithologist and bird artist

John Gould John Gould (; 14 September 1804 – 3 February 1881) was an English ornithologist who published monographs on birds, illustrated by plates produced by his wife, Elizabeth Gould (illustrator), Elizabeth Gould, and several other artists, includ ...

in 1865. 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 ...

was subsequently designated as the

buff-sided robin The buff-sided robin (''Poecilodryas cerviniventris'') is a small, diurnal, insectivorous, perching (passerine) bird in the family Petroicidae, a group commonly known as the Australo-Papuan or Petroicidae, Australasian robins. It is also known ...

(''Poecilodryas cerviniventris''). The genus name combines 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 ...

''poikilos'' "variegated" with ''dryad'' "tree-nymph".

Species

The genus contains three

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), ...

: Formerly, some authorities also placed the following species (or subspecies) in the genus ''Poecilodryas'': *

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 ...

(now ''Pachycephala modesta'' in the family

Pachycephalidae The Pachycephalidae are a family of bird species that includes the whistlers, shrikethrushes, and three of the pitohuis, and is part of the ancient Australo-Papuan radiation of songbirds. The family includes 69 species that are separated into fi ...

) * Golden monarch (nitidus) (now ''Carterornis nitida'' in the family

Monarchidae The monarchs or monarch flycatchers (family Monarchidae) comprise a family of over 100 passerine birds which includes shrikebills, paradise flycatchers, and Grallina, magpie-larks. Monarchids are small insectivore, insectivorous songbirds with l ...

) *

Black-throated robin The black-throated robin (''Plesiodryas albonotata'') is a species of passerine bird in the Australisian robin family Petroicidae. It is found on the island of New Guinea. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests at ...

(now ''Plesiodryas albonotata'') *

Banded yellow robin The banded yellow robin or olive-yellow robin (''Gennaeodryas placens'') is a species of bird in the Australasian robin family Petroicidae that is found in New Guinea. It is the only species in the genus ''Gennaeodryas''. Its natural habitats are ...

(now ''Gennaeodryas placens'')

References

Bird genera Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Petroicidae-stub