Cinclosomatidae
Encyclopedia
Cinclosomatidae is a family
of passerine
bird
s native to Australia
and nearby areas. It has a complicated taxonomic history and different authors vary in which birds they include in the family. It includes at least the quail-thrush
es (Cinclosoma), 5 species
of ground-dwelling birds found in Australia and New Guinea
. The jewel-babbler
s (Ptilorrhoa), 4 species found in rainforest in New Guinea, also seem to belong in this family.
The whipbirds and wedgebills (Psophodes
and Androphobus) are often included in which case the name Psophodidae has priority
as the name of the family. The Malaysian Rail-babbler
(Eupetes macrocerus) was formerly sometimes placed in this family which would then be called Eupetidae.
(Ifrita kowaldi) were also included in the family. In 1985, Sibley and Ahlquist found that the logrunners were not related to the others and included only the logrunners in the Orthonychidae. They treated the others as the subfamily Cinclosomatinae within their expanded family Corvidae
.
A numbers of authors later treated the quail-thrushes and allies as the family Cinclosomatidae, a name first coined by Gregory Mathews in 1921–1922. However, if the whipbirds are included in the family, the older name Psophodidae Bonaparte
, 1854 has priority. If the Malaysian Rail-babbler is also included, the name Eupetidae Bonaparte, 1850 has priority.
The Malaysian Rail-babbler has now been shown to be unrelated to the others, probably being an early offshoot of the Passerida
. Another study found the quail-thrushes and jewel-babblers to be related to each other but did not show them to have a close relationship with Psophodes or Ifrita.
. Males and females often differ in plumage
markings. The quail-thrushes are largely brown above, the colour varying to provide camouflage
against the soil, but are more boldly marked with black and white below. Jewel-babblers usually have extensive blue in their plumage. Most species have loud, distinctive songs
.
Whipbirds and wedgebills are 19–31 cm long. They are mainly olive-green or brown in colour and have a crest.
, Batanta
, Misool
and Salawati
. They occur in forest, generally replacing each other at different altitudes. The Painted Quail-thrush is also found in the forests of New Guinea. The other quail-thrushes are restricted to Australia where they are found in drier habitats, occurring in open forest, scrub and on stony ground. None of the species are thought to be threatened
but one subspecies of the Spotted Quail-thrush
is possibly extinct
.
The whipbirds and wedgebills are all found in Australia, occurring in a range of habitats from rainforest to arid scrub. The Western Whipbird
is considered to be Near-threatened because of habitat loss and fires while the Papuan Whipbird
is classed as Data Deficient
.
s and other invertebrate
s. In the desert, quail-thrushes also eat some seeds.
They build a cup-shaped nest
among shrubs or on the ground. Two or three eggs
are laid.
If the following species are included, the family becomes Psophodidae:
The following species is sometimes also included:
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
of passerine
Passerine
A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...
bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s native to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and nearby areas. It has a complicated taxonomic history and different authors vary in which birds they include in the family. It includes at least the quail-thrush
Quail-thrush
Quail-thrush is the term applied to any member of the genus Cinclosoma, which contains five species of birds who are related to neither quails nor thrushes though have characteristics of both. The genus is found in Australia and New Guinea in a variety of habitats ranging from rainforest to deserts...
es (Cinclosoma), 5 species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of ground-dwelling birds found in Australia and New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
. The jewel-babbler
Jewel-babbler
The jewel-babblers are a genus, Ptilorrhoa of birds in the Cinclosomatidae family. The genus contains four species that are endemic to New Guinea. The genus was once considered to contain the Rail-babbler, but that species is now considered to belong to its own family. The genus is closely related...
s (Ptilorrhoa), 4 species found in rainforest in New Guinea, also seem to belong in this family.
The whipbirds and wedgebills (Psophodes
Psophodes
Psophodes is a genus of four, or possibly five, species of songbirds endemic to Australia, known as whipbirds and wedgebills.-Species:* Eastern Whipbird, Psophodes olivaceus* Western Whipbird, Psophodes nigrogularis...
and Androphobus) are often included in which case the name Psophodidae has priority
Principle of Priority
thumb|270px|Boa manditraIn zoology, the scientific study of animals, the Principle of Priority is one of the guiding principles of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, defined by Article 23....
as the name of the family. The Malaysian Rail-babbler
Malaysian Rail-babbler
The Rail-babbler or Malaysian Rail-babbler is a strange, rail-like, brown and pied inhabitant of the floor of primary forest in the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra , as well as Borneo , distantly related to African crow-like birds...
(Eupetes macrocerus) was formerly sometimes placed in this family which would then be called Eupetidae.
Taxonomy
The quail-thrushes, jewel-babblers, whipbirds and wedgebills were traditionally included with the logrunners (Orthonyx) in the family Orthonychidae. Sometimes the Malaysian Rail-babbler and Blue-capped IfritaBlue-capped Ifrita
The Blue-capped Ifrita , also known as the Ifrit, is a small insectivorous bird endemic to the rainforests of New Guinea. It measures up to 16.5 cm long and has yellowish brown plumage with a blue and black crown. The male has a white streak behind its eye, while the female's is a dull yellow...
(Ifrita kowaldi) were also included in the family. In 1985, Sibley and Ahlquist found that the logrunners were not related to the others and included only the logrunners in the Orthonychidae. They treated the others as the subfamily Cinclosomatinae within their expanded family Corvidae
Corvidae
Corvidae is a cosmopolitan family of oscine passerine birds that contains the crows, ravens, rooks, jackdaws, jays, magpies, treepies, choughs and nutcrackers. The common English names used are corvids or the crow family , and there are over 120 species...
.
A numbers of authors later treated the quail-thrushes and allies as the family Cinclosomatidae, a name first coined by Gregory Mathews in 1921–1922. However, if the whipbirds are included in the family, the older name Psophodidae Bonaparte
Charles Lucien Bonaparte
Charles Lucien Jules Laurent Bonaparte, 2nd Prince of Canino and Musignano was a French naturalist and ornithologist.-Biography:...
, 1854 has priority. If the Malaysian Rail-babbler is also included, the name Eupetidae Bonaparte, 1850 has priority.
The Malaysian Rail-babbler has now been shown to be unrelated to the others, probably being an early offshoot of the Passerida
Passerida
Passerida is under the Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy, one of two "parvorders" contained within the suborder Passeri...
. Another study found the quail-thrushes and jewel-babblers to be related to each other but did not show them to have a close relationship with Psophodes or Ifrita.
Description
The quail-thrushes and jewel babblers are medium-sized songbirds, 17–28 cm in length. They have strong legs and billsBeak
The beak, bill or rostrum is an external anatomical structure of birds which is used for eating and for grooming, manipulating objects, killing prey, fighting, probing for food, courtship and feeding young...
. Males and females often differ in plumage
Plumage
Plumage refers both to the layer of feathers that cover a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage vary between species and subspecies and can also vary between different age classes, sexes, and season. Within species there can also be a...
markings. The quail-thrushes are largely brown above, the colour varying to provide camouflage
Camouflage
Camouflage is a method of concealment that allows an otherwise visible animal, military vehicle, or other object to remain unnoticed, by blending with its environment. Examples include a leopard's spotted coat, the battledress of a modern soldier and a leaf-mimic butterfly...
against the soil, but are more boldly marked with black and white below. Jewel-babblers usually have extensive blue in their plumage. Most species have loud, distinctive songs
Bird song
Bird vocalization includes both bird calls and bird songs. In non-technical use, bird songs are the bird sounds that are melodious to the human ear. In ornithology and birding, songs are distinguished by function from calls.-Definition:The distinction between songs and calls is based upon...
.
Whipbirds and wedgebills are 19–31 cm long. They are mainly olive-green or brown in colour and have a crest.
Distribution and habitat
Jewel-babblers are found on New Guinea and the neighbouring islands of YapenYapen
Yapen is an island of western New Guinea, Indonesia. The Yapen Strait separates Yapen and the Biak Islands to the north. It is in Cenderawasih Bay. To the west is Mios Num Strait between it and Mios Num Island, and the east Kurudu Island. The southeast are the Amboi Islands and the southwest...
, Batanta
Batanta
Batanta is one of the four major islands in the Raja Ampat Islands in Papua province, Indonesia. Its area is 453 km² and its highest point is 1184 m.- Fauna :The following mammals are found on the island:...
, Misool
Misool
Misool is one of the four major islands in the Raja Ampat Islands in West Papua , Indonesia. Its area is 2034 km². The highest point is 535 m and the main town is Waigama, on the island's northern coast, and Lilinta....
and Salawati
Salawati
Salawati is one of the four major islands in the Raja Ampat Islands in West Papua , Indonesia. Its area is 1623 km². The other main islands in the archipelago are Misool, Batanta and Waigeo....
. They occur in forest, generally replacing each other at different altitudes. The Painted Quail-thrush is also found in the forests of New Guinea. The other quail-thrushes are restricted to Australia where they are found in drier habitats, occurring in open forest, scrub and on stony ground. None of the species are thought to be threatened
Threatened species
Threatened species are any speciesg animals, plants, fungi, etc.) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future.The World Conservation Union is the foremost authority on threatened species, and treats threatened species not as a single category, but as a group of three categories,...
but one subspecies of the Spotted Quail-thrush
Spotted Quail-thrush
The Spotted Quail-thrush is a species of bird in the Cinclosomatidae family.It is endemic to Australia.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forests.-References:...
is possibly extinct
Extinction
In biology and ecology, extinction is the end of an organism or of a group of organisms , normally a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and recover may have been lost before this point...
.
The whipbirds and wedgebills are all found in Australia, occurring in a range of habitats from rainforest to arid scrub. The Western Whipbird
Western Whipbird
The Western Whipbird is a passerine bird found in several scattered populations across southern Australia. It is predominantly olive green in colour....
is considered to be Near-threatened because of habitat loss and fires while the Papuan Whipbird
Papuan Whipbird
The Papuan Whipbird is a species of bird in the Cinclosomatidae family. It is monotypic within the genus Androphobus.It is found in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.-References:...
is classed as Data Deficient
Data Deficient
Data Deficient is a category applied by the IUCN, other agencies, and individuals to a species when the available information is not sufficient for a proper assessment of conservation status to be made...
.
Behaviour
They are terrestrial birds which fly fairly weakly and prefer to squat or run when disturbed. They forage on the ground feeding mainly on insectInsect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s and other invertebrate
Invertebrate
An invertebrate is an animal without a backbone. The group includes 97% of all animal species – all animals except those in the chordate subphylum Vertebrata .Invertebrates form a paraphyletic group...
s. In the desert, quail-thrushes also eat some seeds.
They build a cup-shaped nest
Bird nest
A bird nest is the spot in which a bird lays and incubates its eggs and raises its young. Although the term popularly refers to a specific structure made by the bird itself—such as the grassy cup nest of the American Robin or Eurasian Blackbird, or the elaborately woven hanging nest of the...
among shrubs or on the ground. Two or three eggs
Egg (biology)
An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo first begins to develop. In most birds, reptiles, insects, molluscs, fish, and monotremes, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum, which is expelled from the body and permitted to develop outside the body until the developing...
are laid.
Species list
- Genus Cinclosoma – quail-thrushes
- Spotted Quail-thrushSpotted Quail-thrushThe Spotted Quail-thrush is a species of bird in the Cinclosomatidae family.It is endemic to Australia.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forests.-References:...
, Cinclosoma punctatum - Chestnut-backed Quail-thrush, Cinclosoma castanotum
- Chestnut-breasted Quail-thrushChestnut-breasted Quail-thrushThe Chestnut-breasted Quail-thrush is a species of bird in the Cinclosomatidae family.It is endemic to Australia.-References:* BirdLife International 2004. . Downloaded on 25 July 2007....
, Cinclosoma castaneothorax - Cinnamon Quail-thrushCinnamon Quail-thrushThe Cinnamon Quail-thrush is a species of bird in the Cinclosomatidae family.It is endemic to Australia.-References:* BirdLife International 2004. . Downloaded on 25 July 2007....
, Cinclosoma cinnamomeum - Painted Quail-thrushPainted Quail-thrushThe Painted Quail-thrush is a species of bird in the Cinclosomatidae family.It is found in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.-References:...
, Cinclosoma ajax
- Spotted Quail-thrush
- Genus Ptilorrhoa – jewel-babblers
- Spotted Jewel-babblerSpotted Jewel-babblerThe Spotted Jewel-babbler is a species of bird in the Cinclosomatidae family.It is found in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.-References:...
, Ptilorrhoa leucosticta - Blue Jewel-babblerBlue Jewel-babblerThe Blue Jewel-babbler is a species of bird in the Cinclosomatidae family.It is found in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.-References:...
, Ptilorrhoa caerulescens - Brown-headed Jewel-babbler, Ptilorrhoa geisleroroum
- Chestnut-backed Jewel-babblerChestnut-backed Jewel-babblerThe Chestnut-backed Jewel-babbler is a species of bird in the Cinclosomatidae family.It is found in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea....
, Ptilorrhoa castanonota
- Spotted Jewel-babbler
If the following species are included, the family becomes Psophodidae:
- Genus Androphobus
- Papuan WhipbirdPapuan WhipbirdThe Papuan Whipbird is a species of bird in the Cinclosomatidae family. It is monotypic within the genus Androphobus.It is found in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.-References:...
, Androphobus viridis
- Papuan Whipbird
- Genus PsophodesPsophodesPsophodes is a genus of four, or possibly five, species of songbirds endemic to Australia, known as whipbirds and wedgebills.-Species:* Eastern Whipbird, Psophodes olivaceus* Western Whipbird, Psophodes nigrogularis...
- Eastern WhipbirdEastern WhipbirdThe Eastern Whipbird is an insectivorous passerine bird native to the east coast of Australia, its whip-crack call a familiar sound in forests of eastern Australia. Two subspecies are recognised. Heard much more often than seen, it is a dark olive-green and black in colour with a distinctive white...
, Psophodes olivaceus - Western WhipbirdWestern WhipbirdThe Western Whipbird is a passerine bird found in several scattered populations across southern Australia. It is predominantly olive green in colour....
, Psophodes nigrogularis- Mallee Whipbird, Psophodes (nigrogularis) leucogaster
- Chiming WedgebillChiming WedgebillThe Chiming Wedgebill is a species of bird in the Cinclosomatidae family.It is endemic to Australia.The Chiming Wedgebill makes a cooing sound during mating.-References:...
, Psophodes occidentalis - Chirruping WedgebillChirruping WedgebillThe Chirruping Wedgebill is a species of bird in the Cinclosomatidae family.It is endemic to Australia.-References:* BirdLife International 2004. . Downloaded on 27 July 2007....
, Psophodes cristatus
- Eastern Whipbird
The following species is sometimes also included:
- Genus Ifrita
- Blue-capped IfritaBlue-capped IfritaThe Blue-capped Ifrita , also known as the Ifrit, is a small insectivorous bird endemic to the rainforests of New Guinea. It measures up to 16.5 cm long and has yellowish brown plumage with a blue and black crown. The male has a white streak behind its eye, while the female's is a dull yellow...
, Ifrita kowaldi
- Blue-capped Ifrita
External links
- Jewel-babblers and allies videos, photos & sounds on the Internet Bird Collection