A shrikethrush, also spelt shrike-thrush, is any one of eleven species of

songbird A songbird is a bird belonging to the suborder Passeri of the perching birds ( Passeriformes). Another name that is sometimes seen as the scientific or vernacular name is Oscines, from Latin ''oscen'', "songbird". The Passeriformes contains 50 ...

that is a member of the

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 ...

''Colluricincla''. They have nondescript, predominantly brown or grey, plumage, but are accomplished singers, their calls described as "strong, mellow and beautiful." Shrikethrushes are generally insectivorous, though have been recorded eating molluscs and berries. They build cup-shaped nests in the forks of trees.

Taxonomy and systematics

Nicholas Aylward Vigors Nicholas Aylward Vigors (1785 – 26 October 1840) was an Irish zoologist and politician. He popularized the classification of birds on the basis of the quinarian system. Early life Vigors was born at Old Leighlin, County Carlow on 1785 as fir ...

and

Thomas Horsfield Thomas Horsfield (May 12, 1773 – July 24, 1859) was an American physician and naturalist who worked extensively in Indonesia, describing numerous species of plants and animals from the region. He was later a curator of the East India Company ...

described the genus in 1827, coining the genus name from the

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

words ''collurio'' "shrike" and ''cinclos'' "thrush". Noting the beak, they thought it related to

shrike Shrikes () are passerine birds of the family Laniidae. The family is composed of 34 species in four genera. The family name, and that of the largest genus, '' Lanius'', is derived from the Latin word for "butcher", and some shrikes are also kno ...

s or

vanga The family Vangidae (from ''vanga'', Malagasy for the hook-billed vanga, ''Vanga curvirostris'') comprises a group of often shrike-like medium-sized birds distributed from Asia to Africa, including the vangas of Madagascar to which the family ...

s, though its form was reminiscent of

thrushes The thrushes are a passerine bird family, Turdidae, with a worldwide distribution. The family was once much larger before biologists reclassified the former subfamily Saxicolinae, which includes the chats and European robins, as Old World flycat ...

. Shrikethrushes were commonly known as colluricinclas in the 19th century, but their current name was in use by the late 19th century. Molecular studies by Norman and colleagues in 2009 and Jønsson and colleagues in 2010 show the shrikethrushes to lie within the whistler family Pachycephalidae. Formerly, some authorities classified the shrikethrushes in their own family

Colluricinclidae This category lists families of birds. Only scientific names should be listed here; for categorization by English names, use :Birds by common name. {{Commons category, Families of Aves families Birds Birds are a group of warm-blooded v ...

. Molecular dating suggests the shrikethrushes diverged from the common ancestor of the genus ''

Pseudorectes ''Pseudorectes'' is a bird genus in the family Pachycephalidae endemic to New Guinea. Pseudorectes Extant species It contains the following species: * White-bellied pitohui (''Pseudorectes incertus'') * Rusty pitohui The rusty pitohui (''Pse ...

'' (their closest relatives) in the mid-

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58 The

Sangihe whistler The Sangihe whistler or Sangihe shrikethrush (''Coracornis sanghirensis'') is a species of bird in the family Pachycephalidae. It is endemic to Sangihe Island in Indonesia. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. It ...

was found to be more closely related to the

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 t ...

and hence shifted to the genus ''

Coracornis ''Coracornis'' is a genus of birds in the family Pachycephalidae. The two species are found in Indonesia. Taxonomy and systematics Formerly, the genus ''Coracornis'' was considered to be monotypic, containing only the maroon-backed whistler. Th ...

''. Genetic investigations of New Guinea populations of the

little shrikethrush Little shrikethrush has been split into the following species: * Arafura shrikethrush, ''Colluricincla megarhyncha'' * Variable shrikethrush, ''Colluricincla fortis'' * Waigeo shrikethrush, ''Colluricincla affinis'' * Mamberamo shrikethrush, ' ...

indicate high levels of genetic divergence, suggesting it may comprise more than one species.

Extant species

The genus ''Colluricincla'' contains the following eleven species:

Former species

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

(as ''Colluricincla sanghirensis'') *

Island whistler The island whistler (''Pachycephala phaionota'') is a species of bird in the family Pachycephalidae endemic to the Moluccas (Indonesia). Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and subtropical or tropical mangrove forests. T ...

(as ''Myiolestes phaionotus'') *

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 ...

(as ''Myiolestes macrorhynchus'') *

Biak whistler The Biak whistler (''Pachycephala melanorhyncha'') is a species of bird 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 ...

(as ''Colluricincla melanorhyncha'') *

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 ...

(as ''

Colluricincla tenebrosa The sooty shrikethrush (''Colluricincla tenebrosa'') is a species of bird in the family Pachycephalidae. It is found in the New Guinea Highlands. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. Taxonomy and systematics The ...

'') *

White-bellied pitohui The white-bellied pitohui (''Pseudorectes incertus'') is a species of bird in the family Pachycephalidae. It is found throughout the lowlands of southern New Guinea (Lorentz River to upper Fly River. Taxonomy and systematics The white-bellied pi ...

(as ''Colluricincla incerta'') *

Rusty pitohui The rusty pitohui (''Pseudorectes ferrugineus'') is a species of bird in the family Pachycephalidae. It is found throughout the lowlands of the Aru Islands and New Guinea. Taxonomy and systematics The rusty pitohui was originally classified with ...

(as ''Colluricincla ferruginea'') *

Fiji shrikebill The Fiji shrikebill (''Clytorhynchus vitiensis'') is a songbird species in the family Monarchidae. It is found in American Samoa, Fiji, and Tonga. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. Taxonomy and systematics Th ...

(as ''Myiolestes vitiensis'') * Fiji shrikebill (buensis) (as ''Myiolestes buensis'') *

Futuna lesser shrikebill The Fiji shrikebill (''Clytorhynchus vitiensis'') is a songbird species in the family Monarchidae. It is found in American Samoa, Fiji, and Tonga. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. Taxonomy and systematics Th ...

(as ''Myiolestes fortunae'') * Fiji shrikebill (heinei) (as ''Myiolestes heinei'')

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2512915 * Taxonomy articles created by Polbot