Pachycephalidae
Encyclopedia
The family Pachycephalidae, collectively the whistlers, includes the whistlers, shrike-thrushes, shrike-tits
, pitohui
s and Crested Bellbird, and is part of the ancient Australo-Papuan radiation of songbird
s. Its members range from small to medium in size, and occupy most of Australasia
. Australia
and New Guinea
are the centre of their diversity, with species and genera also reaching New Zealand
, and in the case of the whistlers, the South Pacific islands as far as Tonga
and Samoa
and parts of Asia as far as India
. The exact delimitation of boundaries of the family are uncertain, for example the genus Mohoua
, which is endemic to New Zealand has been placed with the family based on a number of morphological features and DNA-DNA hybridization studies, but the placement is still controversial.
forests. Some species are restricted to a particular ecosystem, whereas others are more catholic and will inhabit a range of habitat types.
and its close relatives, have bright plumage. One of the more unusual traits of this family is found in the feathers of some of the pitohui
s, which have toxins. These toxins are probably a deterrent to parasites and may also serve to dissuade predators from taking the birds.
, picking insects off leaves, branches, or leaf litter. While insects make up the majority of the diet they will also feed on spiders, worms, centipedes, snails, and small crabs; larger species will also tackle small vertebrates such as frogs, geckos and baby birds. They are generally sedate foragers and do not engage in hawking
to obtain prey, instead being gleaners and probers. Only a few species migrate, most remaining resident in their tropical environment.
Little is known about the breeding biology of most of the family; what is known generally comes from a small number of Australian species and the three New Zealand Mohoua species. They are monogamous
and generally nest as simple pairs, although breeding groups
have been recorded in some species.
Several species belonging to this family are outstanding songsters: the whistlers produce an astonishing volume for their size, and the lyrebird
s aside, the Grey Shrike-thrush
is often regarded as the finest, most inventive songbird of them all.
* Although traditionally included in this family, recent genetic
evidence suggests that the Yellow-flanked Whistler, also known as the Olive-flanked Whistler, actually should be placed in a monotypic
subfamily of the family Bombycillidae.
Crested Shrike-tit
The Crested Shrike-tit is a bird endemic to Australia where it inhabits open eucalypt forest and woodland.-Taxonomy and distribution:...
, pitohui
Pitohui
The pitohuis are a genus of birds endemic to New Guinea, belonging to the family Pachycephalidae.Currently six species are classified in the genus, though current molecular genetics research suggests that significant reclassification of the Pachycephalidae may be needed.-Species:* Variable...
s and Crested Bellbird, and is part of the ancient Australo-Papuan radiation of songbird
Songbird
A songbird is a bird belonging to the suborder Passeri of the perching birds . Another name that is sometimes seen as scientific or vernacular name is Oscines, from Latin oscen, "a songbird"...
s. Its members range from small to medium in size, and occupy most of Australasia
Australasia
Australasia is a region of Oceania comprising Australia, New Zealand, the island of New Guinea, and neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term was coined by Charles de Brosses in Histoire des navigations aux terres australes...
. 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 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...
are the centre of their diversity, with species and genera also reaching New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, and in the case of the whistlers, the South Pacific islands as far as Tonga
Tonga
Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga , is a state and an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, comprising 176 islands scattered over of ocean in the South Pacific...
and Samoa
Samoa
Samoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in...
and parts of Asia as far as India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. The exact delimitation of boundaries of the family are uncertain, for example the genus Mohoua
Mohoua
Mohoua is a small genus of three bird species endemic to New Zealand. The Latin genus name is taken from either mohuahua or momohua - both Māori names for the Yellowhead. All three species display some degree of sexual dimorphism in terms of size, with the males being the larger of the two sexes...
, which is endemic to New Zealand has been placed with the family based on a number of morphological features and DNA-DNA hybridization studies, but the placement is still controversial.
Habitat
The whistlers are birds of forests and wooded areas. Most species inhabit rainforest, particularly in the Asian and Papuan parts of their range, but Australian species inhabit a wider range of habitats including woodlands, arid scrubland and mangroveMangrove
Mangroves are various kinds of trees up to medium height and shrubs that grow in saline coastal sediment habitats in the tropics and subtropics – mainly between latitudes N and S...
forests. Some species are restricted to a particular ecosystem, whereas others are more catholic and will inhabit a range of habitat types.
Description
The whistlers are stout birds with strong bills, and the group was once known as the thickheads due to the large rounded heads of many species. Their plumage is rufous, brown, or grey in the majority of species. Nevertheless a few species, particularly the Golden WhistlerGolden Whistler
The Australian Golden Whistler is a species of bird found in forest, woodland, mallee, mangrove and scrub in Australia and in mountain forest in the Snow Mountains in the Papua Province of Indonesia. Most populations are resident, but some in south-eastern Australia migrate north during the winter...
and its close relatives, have bright plumage. One of the more unusual traits of this family is found in the feathers of some of the pitohui
Pitohui
The pitohuis are a genus of birds endemic to New Guinea, belonging to the family Pachycephalidae.Currently six species are classified in the genus, though current molecular genetics research suggests that significant reclassification of the Pachycephalidae may be needed.-Species:* Variable...
s, which have toxins. These toxins are probably a deterrent to parasites and may also serve to dissuade predators from taking the birds.
Behaviour
They are insectivorousInsectivore
An insectivore is a type of carnivore with a diet that consists chiefly of insects and similar small creatures. An alternate term is entomophage, which also refers to the human practice of eating insects....
, picking insects off leaves, branches, or leaf litter. While insects make up the majority of the diet they will also feed on spiders, worms, centipedes, snails, and small crabs; larger species will also tackle small vertebrates such as frogs, geckos and baby birds. They are generally sedate foragers and do not engage in hawking
Hawking (birds)
Hawking is a feeding strategy in birds involving catching flying insects in the air. The term usually refers to a technique of sallying out from a perch to snatch an insect and then returning to the same or a different perch...
to obtain prey, instead being gleaners and probers. Only a few species migrate, most remaining resident in their tropical environment.
Little is known about the breeding biology of most of the family; what is known generally comes from a small number of Australian species and the three New Zealand Mohoua species. They are monogamous
Monogamy
Monogamy /Gr. μονός+γάμος - one+marriage/ a form of marriage in which an individual has only one spouse at any one time. In current usage monogamy often refers to having one sexual partner irrespective of marriage or reproduction...
and generally nest as simple pairs, although breeding groups
Helpers at the nest
Helpers at the nest is a term used in behavioural ecology and evolutionary biology to describe a social structure in which juveniles and sexually mature adolescents of either one or both sexes, remain in association with their parents and help them raise subsequent broods or litters, instead of...
have been recorded in some species.
Several species belonging to this family are outstanding songsters: the whistlers produce an astonishing volume for their size, and the lyrebird
Lyrebird
A Lyrebird is either of two species of ground-dwelling Australian birds, that form the genus, Menura, and the family Menuridae. They are most notable for their superb ability to mimic natural and artificial sounds from their environment. Lyrebirds have unique plumes of neutral coloured...
s aside, the Grey Shrike-thrush
Grey Shrike-thrush
The Grey Shrikethrush or Grey Shrike-thrush , formerly commonly known as Grey Thrush, is one of the best-loved and most distinctive songbirds of Australasia. It is moderately common to common in most parts of Australia, but absent from the driest of the inland deserts...
is often regarded as the finest, most inventive songbird of them all.
Systematics
FAMILY: PACHYCEPHALIDAE- Subfamily: Falcunculinae
- Genus: MohouaMohouaMohoua is a small genus of three bird species endemic to New Zealand. The Latin genus name is taken from either mohuahua or momohua - both Māori names for the Yellowhead. All three species display some degree of sexual dimorphism in terms of size, with the males being the larger of the two sexes...
- WhiteheadWhitehead (bird)The Whitehead or Pōpokotea is a small species of passerine bird endemic to New Zealand...
, Mohoua albicilla - YellowheadYellowhead (bird)The Yellowhead or Mohua is a small insectivorous, passerine bird endemic to the South Island of New Zealand...
, Mohoua ochrocephala - Brown CreeperBrown Creeper (New Zealand)The Brown Creeper , also known by its Māori name, Pipipi, is a small passerine bird endemic to the South Island of New Zealand. They are specialist insectivores, gleaning insects from branches and leaves...
or PipipiBrown Creeper (New Zealand)The Brown Creeper , also known by its Māori name, Pipipi, is a small passerine bird endemic to the South Island of New Zealand. They are specialist insectivores, gleaning insects from branches and leaves...
, Mohoua novaeseelandiae
- Whitehead
- Genus: Falcunculus
- Crested Shrike-titCrested Shrike-titThe Crested Shrike-tit is a bird endemic to Australia where it inhabits open eucalypt forest and woodland.-Taxonomy and distribution:...
, Falcunculus frontatus
- Crested Shrike-tit
- Genus: Oreoica
- Crested BellbirdCrested BellbirdThe Crested Bellbird is a species of bird in the Colluricinclidae family. It is monotypic within the genus Oreoica.It is endemic to Australia.-Conservation status:...
, Oreoica gutturalis
- Crested Bellbird
- Genus: Rhagologus
- Mottled WhistlerMottled WhistlerThe Mottled Whistler is a species of bird in the Pachycephalidae family. It is monotypic within the genus Rhagologus.It is found in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea....
, Rhagologus leucostigma
- Mottled Whistler
- Genus: Mohoua
- Subfamily: PachycephalinaePachycephalinaeThe whistlers, shrike-thrushes and pitohuis are the c.50 species of birds from the subfamily Pachycephalinae. They are found in the ecozones of Australasia, Oceania and Indomalaya, but the vast majority of the species are found in Wallacea, New Guinea and Australia...
- Genus: Pachycare - Dwarf Whistler
- Genus: Hylocitrea - Yellow-flanked Whistler
* - Genus: Coracornis - Maroon-backed Whistler
- Genus: Aleadryas - Rufous-naped Whistler
- Genus: PachycephalaPachycephalaPachycephala is a genus 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 terms pachys "thick" + kephale "head".-Species in...
- typical whistlers (more than 30 species) - Genus: ColluricinclaShrike-thrushColluricincla is a bird genus in the family Colluricinclidae, which was formerly included in the Pachycephalidae. Its members are known as the shrikethrushes.It contains the following species:* Bower's Shrikethrush, Colluricincla boweri...
- shrikethrushes (7 species) - Genus: PitohuiPitohuiThe pitohuis are a genus of birds endemic to New Guinea, belonging to the family Pachycephalidae.Currently six species are classified in the genus, though current molecular genetics research suggests that significant reclassification of the Pachycephalidae may be needed.-Species:* Variable...
- pitohuis (6 species) - Genus: Eulacestoma - Wattled Ploughbill
Genetics
Genetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....
evidence suggests that the Yellow-flanked Whistler, also known as the Olive-flanked Whistler, actually should be placed in a monotypic
Monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group with only one biological type. The term's usage differs slightly between botany and zoology. The term monotypic has a separate use in conservation biology, monotypic habitat, regarding species habitat conversion eliminating biodiversity and...
subfamily of the family Bombycillidae.
External links
- Pachycephalidae videos on the Internet Bird Collection