Whistling thrush
| Whistling thrush | |
|---|---|
| |
| Taiwan whistling thrush (Myophonus insularis) | |
Scientific classification
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Muscicapidae |
| Subfamily: | Saxicolinae |
| Genus: | Myophonus Temminck,1822 |
| Type species | |
| Myophonus metallicus[1] Temminck, 1822
| |
| Species | |
|
See text | |
Thewhistling thrushescomprise agenusMyophonusof the Old World flycatcher familyMuscicapidae.
They are all medium-sized mostly insectivorous or omnivorousbirds.They are all brightly coloured species found in India and south-eastern Asia. The male is usually blue, and the females are either similar to the male or brown. The brighter blue patches found on the shoulders and sometimes the head, of whistling thrushes, uniquely for a passerine, reflect strongly in theultraviolet.[2]
Taxonomy
[edit]The genusMyophonuswas introduced in 1822 by the Dutch zoologistCoenraad Jacob Temminckto accommodate a single species,Myophonus metallicusTemminck. This is ajunior synonymofTurdus flavirostrisHorsfield,asubspeciesof theblue whistling thrushwhich is therefore thetype species.[3][4]There has been confusion as to the correct spelling of the genus name. Temminck's work was published in 102 parts (livraisons) and Plate 170 with the associated text was included in Livraison 29 which was issued in December 1822. However, the assembled volumes included pages inserted before Plate 170 with the genus name spelled asMyiophoneus.These inserted pages cannot have been issued earlier than 1832.[5][6]The genus nameMyophonusis from theAncient Greekmuiameaning "fly" andphoneusmeaning "slayer".[7]
As the English name suggests, the genus was at one time placed in the thrush familyTurdidaebut in 2010 two separatemolecular phylogeneticstudies found that members of the genus were more closely related to species in the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae.[8][9]
The genus includes nine species several of which have ranges that are restricted to islands or peninsulas:[10]
| Image | Scientific name | Common Name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Sri Lanka whistling thrush | Myophonus blighi | found on Sri Lanka |
| Shiny whistling thrush | Myophonus melanurus | Sumatra | |
 |
Javan whistling thrush | Myophonus glaucinus | Java |
 |
Bornean whistling thrush | Myophonus borneensis | Borneo |
| Brown-winged whistling thrush | Myophonus castaneus | Sumatra | |
| Malayan whistling thrush | Myophonus robinsoni | peninsular Malaysia | |
 |
Malabar whistling thrush | Myophonus horsfieldii | peninsular India |
|
Taiwan whistling thrushor Taiwan whistling-thrush | Myophonus insularis | Taiwan |
 |
Blue whistling thrush | Myophonus caeruleus | from Central Asia east to China and south to the Sundas |
Javan, Bornean and brown-winged were formerly lumped as the Sunda whistling thrush, but were split in 2004.[11]
Habits
[edit]
Whistling thrushes are mostly seen in hilly areas except during winter when they may descend to streams near the plains. They specialize in feeding on snails and their strong hooked bills are used to deal with them. They may choose a particular rock on which they crack the shells.[12]
The nests are usually in crevices of rocks and boulders close to water. The cup nests have moss and twigs and is lined with roots and leaves. The eggs are usually three and sometimes four, elongate with a gray ground colour and marked with speckles.[12]
References
[edit]- ^"Muscicapidae".aviansystematics.org.The Trust for Avian Systematics.Retrieved2023-07-15.
- ^Staffan Andersson (1996). "Bright Ultraviolet Colouration in the Asian Whistling-Thrushes (Myiophonusspp.) ".Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.263(1372): 843–848.doi:10.1098/rspb.1996.0124.S2CID85775729.
- ^Temminck, Coenraad Jacob(1838) [1822].Nouveau recueil de planches coloriées d'oiseaux, pour servir de suite et de complément aux planches enluminées de Buffon(in French). Vol. 2. Paris: F.G. Levrault. Plate 170, text Livraison 29.The 5 volumes were originally issued in 102livraison(parts), 1820-1839. The genus name was introduced in the description of Plate 170 which was included in Livraison 29 and published in 1822.
- ^Dickinson, E.C.;Christidis, L.,eds. (2014).The Howard & Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World.Vol. 2: Passerines (4th ed.). Eastbourne, UK: Aves Press. p. 601.ISBN978-0-9568611-2-2.
- ^Deignan, H.G. (1965)."Notes on the nomenclature of the whistling-thrushes".Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club.85:3–4.
- ^Dickinson, E.C.(2001)."Systematic notes on Asian birds. 9. TheNouveau recueil de planches coloriéesof Temminck & Laugier (1820–1839) ".Zoologische Verhandelingen, Leiden.335:7–53 [29].
- ^Jobling, James A. (2010).The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names.London: Christopher Helm. p. 264.ISBN978-1-4081-2501-4.
- ^Sangster, G.; Alström, P.; Forsmark, E.; Olsson, U. (2010). "Multi-locus phylogenetic analysis of Old World chats and flycatchers reveals extensive paraphyly at family, subfamily and genus level (Aves: Muscicapidae)".Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution.57(1): 380–392.doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2010.07.008.PMID20656044.
- ^Zuccon, D.; Ericson, P.G.P. (2010). "A multi-gene phylogeny disentangles the chat-flycatcher complex (Aves: Muscicapidae)".Zoologica Scripta.39(3): 213–224.doi:10.1111/j.1463-6409.2010.00423.x.S2CID85963319.
- ^Gill, Frank; Donsker, David (eds.)."Chats, Old World flycatchers".World Bird List Version 6.2.International Ornithologists' Union.Retrieved20 May2016.
- ^Collar, N.J. (2004)."Species limits in some Indonesian thrushes"(PDF).Forktail.20:71–87.
- ^abDelacour, J. (1942)."The Whistling Thrushes (genusMyiophoneus) "(PDF).Auk.59(2): 246–264.doi:10.2307/4079555.JSTOR4079555.
Further reading
[edit]
- Thrushesby Clement and Hathaway,ISBN0-7136-3940-7