The tinkerbirds or tinker barbets are the genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 Pogoniulus of the Lybiidae

Lybiidae

The Lybiidae is a bird family containing the African barbets. They were usually united with their American and Asian relatives in the Capitonidae for quite some time, but this has been confirmed to be limited to the main American lineage. There are 42 species ranging from the type genus Lybius of...

, the African barbet family

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 near passerine

Near passerine

Near passerine or higher land-bird assemblage are terms often given to arboreal birds or those most often believed to be related to the true passerines due to ecological similarities; the group corresponds to some extent with the Anomalogonatae of Garrod All near passerines are land birds...

s which was formerly included in the Capitonidae and sometimes in the Ramphastidae. Tinkerbirds are widely distributed in tropical Africa.

List of species in taxonomic order

• Speckled Tinkerbird
  Speckled Tinkerbird
  The Speckled Tinkerbird is a species of bird in the Lybiidae family.It is found in Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Togo, and...
  
  , Pogoniulus scolopaceus
• Western Tinkerbird, Pogoniulus coryphaeus
• Moustached Tinkerbird, Pogoniulus leucomystax
• Green Tinkerbird, Pogoniulus simplex
• Red-rumped Tinkerbird
  Red-rumped Tinkerbird
  The Red-rumped Tinkerbird is a species of bird in the Lybiidae family.It is found in Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and...
  
  , Pogoniulus atroflavus
• Yellow-throated Tinkerbird
  Yellow-throated Tinkerbird
  The Yellow-throated Tinkerbird is a species of bird in the Lybiidae family. It is found in Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and...
  
  , Pogoniulus subsulphureus
• Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird
  Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird
  The Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird is a bird species in the family Lybiidae. It used to be placed in the family Bucconidae which has been split up; alternatively, it may be included in a vastly expanded Ramphastidae....
  
  , Pogoniulus bilineatus
• White-chested Tinkerbird
  White-chested Tinkerbird
  The White-chested Tinkerbird is a species of bird in the Lybiidae family.It is endemic to Zambia.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist shrubland.-Source:...
  
  , Pogoniulus makawai
• Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird
  Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird
  The Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird, Pogoniulus chrysoconus, is a small African barbet formerly known as Yellow-fronted Tinker Barbet. Barbets are near passerine birds with bristles around the base of the bill and a world-wide tropical distribution....
  
  , Pogoniulus chrysoconus
• Red-fronted Tinkerbird
  Red-fronted Tinkerbird
  The Red-fronted Tinkerbird, Pogoniulus pusillus formerly known as Red-fronted Tinker Barbet is a small African barbet. Barbets are near passerine birds with bristles around the base of the bill...
  
  , Pogoniulus pusillus

Supposed fossil

Fossil

Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...

 remains of Late Miocene

Late Miocene

The Late Miocene is a sub-epoch of the Miocene Epoch made up of two stages. The Tortonian and Messinian stages comprise the Late Miocene sub-epoch....

 tinkerbirds were found at Kohfidisch

Kohfidisch

Kohfidisch is a town in the district of Oberwart in Burgenland in Austria....

 (Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

) but are not yet thoroughly studied. It is not clear whether they belong to the extant genus but given the late date this may well be so.