Oreoicidae

Oreoicidae is a newly recognized family of small insectivorous songbirds, the Australo-Papuan bellbirds. The family contains three genera, each containing a single species. The genera are Aleadryas with the rufous-naped bellbird; Ornorectes which contains the piping bellbird; and Oreoica, which contains the crested bellbird.

Oreoicidae
Crested bellbird, Oreoica gutturalis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Superfamily: Corvoidea
Family: Oreoicidae
Schodde & Christidis, 2014
Genera

Taxonomy and systematics

The three species contained in the family have been moved around between different families for fifty years, including the Colluricinclidae (shrike-thrushes), Falcunculidae (shrike-tits) and Pachycephalidae (whistlers). A series of studies of the DNA of Australian birds between 2006 and 2001 found strong support for treating the three genera as a new family, which was formally named in 2016 (although the name had first been proposed by Sibley and Ahlquist in 1985) .[1]

Within the passerines the relationship of the Australo-Papuan bellbirds to other bird families has been difficult to establish, at one time they have been thought to be close to a range of families including the cuckoo-shrikes, whistlers, false-whistlers (Rhagologidae), crested berrypeckers, butcherbirds and woodswallows, and Old World orioles.[1]

Taxonomic list

Three monotypic genera,

  • Aleadryas
  • Aleadryas rufinucha, rufous-naped bellbird
  • Ornorectes
  • Ornorectes cristatus, piping bellbird
  • Oreoica
  • Oreoica gutturalis, crested bellbird

Description

The family shares a small number of characteristics. They are small medium to medium-sized songbirds with stout bodies, ranging from 16.5 to 18 cm (6.5–7.1 in) in length for the rufous-naped whistler to 25 to 26 cm (9.8–10.2 in) in the crested pitohui.[1][2][3] They also all have semi-erectile crests and shrike-like bills. The plumage is either the same between the sexes (as in the rufous-naped and piping bellbird) or slightly different (as in the crested bellbird).[1][4]

Distribution and habitat

The family occupies a range of habitats. Two species, the rufous-naped bellbird and the piping bellbird, are endemic to New Guinea, whilst the crested bellbird is endemic to Australia. The two New Guinean species are found in rainforest; lowland and hill forest in the piping bellbird, or montane forest and secondary forest in the case of the rufous-naped bellbird.[3][2] The crested bellbird occupies drier habitats in Australia including dry woodlands and scrublands.[4]

gollark: Paper, then.
gollark: You first.
gollark: Great!
gollark: Want to play rock/paper/scissors?
gollark: I see.

References
  1. Schodde, R.; Christidis, L. (2014). "Relicts from Tertiary Australasia: undescribed families and subfamilies of songbirds (Passeriformes) and their zoogeographic signal". Zootaxa. 3786 (5): 501–522.
  2. Boles, W. (2017). Rufous-naped Whistler (Aleadryas rufinucha). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from http://www.hbw.com/node/59331 on 17 March 2017).
  3. Boles, W. (2017). Crested Pitohui (Pitohui cristatus). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from http://www.hbw.com/node/59378 on 17 March 2017).
  4. Boles, W. (2017). Crested Bellbird (Oreoica gutturalis). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from http://www.hbw.com/node/59330 on 17 March 2017).
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