''Sericornis'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

of small, mainly insectivorous birds, the scrubwrens in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Acanthizidae The Acanthizidae—known as Australian warblers—are a family of passerine birds which includes gerygones, the thornbills '' Acanthiza'', and the scrubwrens of ''Sericornis''. The Acanthizidae family consists of small to medium passerine birds, ...

. Despite the similarity in shape and habits, the true wrens (Troglodytidae) are a quite unrelated group of

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 are distinguished from other orders of birds by th ...

s. The genus previously contained additional species but following the publication of a

molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

study of the scrubwrens in 2018, several species were moved to the resurrected genus ''

Aethomyias ''Aethomyias'' is a genus of passerine birds in the family Acanthizidae that are endemic to New Guinea. A molecular phylogenetic study of the scrubwrens and mouse-warblers published in 2018 led to a substantial revision of the taxonomic classifi ...

'' and the yellow-throated scrubwren was placed in its own

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

genus ''Neosericornis''. The genus contains eight species: * Large-billed scrubwren, ''Sericornis magnirostris'' * Tropical scrubwren or Beccari's scrubwren, ''Sericornis beccarii'' - sometimes included in ''S. magnirostris'' * Large scrubwren, ''Sericornis nouhuysi'' * Spotted scrubwren, ''Sericornis maculatus'' - previously included in ''S. frontalis'' * Tasmanian scrubwren or brown scrubwren, ''Sericornis humilis'' - previously included in ''S. frontalis'' * Atherton scrubwren, ''Sericornis keri'' * White-browed scrubwren, ''Sericornis frontalis'' * Perplexing scrubwren, ''Sericornis virgatus''

References

* Del Hoyo, J.; Elliot, A. & Christie D. (editors). (2006). Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 12: Picathartes to Tits and Chickadees. Lynx Edicions. Bird genera Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Acanthizidae-stub