Gerygone
Gerygone, the gerygones or peep-warblers, is a genus of bird in the Acanthizidae family. The genus ranges from Southeast Asia through New Guinea and Australia to New Zealand and the Chatham Islands. Most of the species are found in New Guinea. Gerygones are insectivores which obtain most of their food by gleaning and snatching in the foliage of trees and bushes, they are small weighing an average of 6–7 g, show little variation in size across their range, except for the insular Chatham gerygone, nearly twice as large as the rest of the genus. Their songs are described as "simple but delightful", many descending in pitch, some species are excellent mimics. "Gerygone" means "born of sound". The genus contains nineteen species including one, now extinct: Brown gerygone, Gerygone mouki Grey gerygone, Gerygone igata Norfolk gerygone, Gerygone modesta Lord Howe gerygone, Gerygone insularis – extinct Chatham gerygone, Gerygone albofrontata Fan-tailed gerygone, Gerygone flavolateralis Brown-breasted gerygone, Gerygone ruficollis Golden-bellied gerygone, Gerygone sulphurea Rufous-sided gerygone, Gerygone dorsalis Mangrove gerygone, Gerygone levigaster Plain gerygone, Gerygone inornata Western gerygone, Gerygone fusca Dusky gerygone, Gerygone tenebrosa Large-billed gerygone, Gerygone magnirostris Biak gerygone, Gerygone hypoxantha – previous a subspecies of G. magnirostris Yellow-bellied gerygone, Gerygone chrysogaster Green-backed gerygone, Gerygone chloronota White-throated gerygone, Gerygone olivacea Fairy gerygone, Gerygone palpebrosa Del Hoyo, J..
Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 12: Picathartes to Tits and Chickadees. Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-84-96553-42-2 Keast, A. & Recher, H. "The adaptive zone of the genus Gerygone as shown by morphology and feeding habits." Emu 97: 1-17 Magrath, Robert.. "Australian Warblers". In Perrins, Christopher; the Firefly Encyclopedia of Birds. Firefly Books. Pp. 470–471. ISBN 1-55297-777-3. Media related to Gerygone at Wikimedia Commons
Acanthiza
Acanthiza is a genus of passeriform birds, most endemic to Australia, but with two species restricted to New Guinea. These birds are known as thornbills, they are not related to species in the hummingbird genera Chalcostigma and Ramphomicron, which are called thornbills. They are found in Australia and have a thin long beak. Colloquially the thornbill is sometimes referred to as a “tit” by locals, but in reality the Australian continent lacks any true tits, albeit Acanthiza species do show some similarities with tits in their behavior, they kinglets. Like tits, Thornbills live in small groups foraging amidst trees and shrubs, feed in a similar manner. Cooperative breeding is recorded from most species except the brown and Tasmanian thornbills; the habitat preferences of the group vary from dense forest to open bluebush plains. Acanthiza follow a characteristic undulating path when flying, their diet is formed of little insects and plant lice that these birds glean from foliage. They are exceptional acrobats that are able to stay head downward like tits do.
The nest of the Acanthiza is a large dome-shaped construction enclosed except for a side hole, just like that of the long-tailed tit. It is somewhat similar to the Aegithalidae in combining long incubation periods with synchronous hatching; this combination impossible due to intense competition for food, occurs because parents and helpers can organise food supply in such a manner that sibling competition for food is absent. The number of eggs ranges from two to four, the incubation period is around twenty days with laying intervals of two days; the length of an adult bird is 8 to 10 centimetres. The genus contains 14 species: Mountain thornbill, Acanthiza katherina Brown thornbill, Acanthiza pusilla Inland thornbill, Acanthiza apicalis Tasmanian thornbill, Acanthiza ewingii New Guinea thornbill, Acanthiza murina Chestnut-rumped thornbill, Acanthiza uropygialis Buff-rumped thornbill, Acanthiza reguloides Western thornbill, Acanthiza inornata Slender-billed thornbill, Acanthiza iredalei Yellow-rumped thornbill, Acanthiza chrysorrhoa Yellow thornbill, Acanthiza nana Grey thornbill, Acanthiza cinerea Striated thornbill, Acanthiza lineata Slaty-backed thornbill, Acanthiza robustirostris Del Hoyo, J..
Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 12: Picathartes to Tits and Chickadees. Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-84-96553-42-2 Acanthiza fotos & videos on the Internet Bird Collection
Basal (phylogenetics)
In phylogenetics, basal is the direction of the base of a rooted phylogenetic tree or cladogram. The term may be more applied only to nodes adjacent to the root, or more loosely applied to nodes regarded as being close to the root; each node in the tree corresponds to a clade. The terms deep-branching or early-branching are similar in meaning. While there must always be two or more basal clades sprouting from the root of every cladogram, those clades may differ in taxonomic rank and/or species diversity. If C is a basal clade within D that has the lowest rank of all basal clades within D, C may be described as the basal taxon of that rank within D. Greater diversification may be associated with more evolutionary innovation, but ancestral characters should not be imputed to the members of a less species-rich basal clade without additional evidence, as there can be no assurance such an assumption is valid. In general, clade A is more basal than clade B if B is a subgroup of the sister group of A.
Within large groups, "basal" may be used loosely to mean'closer to the root than the great majority of', in this context terminology such as "very basal" may arise. A'core clade' is a clade representing all but the basal clade of lowest rank within a larger clade. A basal group in the stricter sense forms a sister group to the rest of the larger clade, as in the following case: While it is easy to identify a basal clade in such a cladogram, the appropriateness of such an identification is dependent on the accuracy and completeness of the diagram, it is assumed in this example that the terminal branches of the cladogram depict all the extant taxa of a given rank within the clade. Additionally, this qualification does not ensure. In phylogenetics, the term basal can be objectively applied to clades of organisms, but tends to be applied selectively and more controversially to groups or lineages thought to possess ancestral characters, or to such presumed ancestral traits themselves. In describing characters, "ancestral" or "plesiomorphic" are preferred to "basal" or "primitive", the latter of which may carry false connotations of inferiority or a lack of complexity.
Despite the ubiquity of the usage of basal, some systematists believe its application to extant groups is unnecessary and misleading. The term is more applied when one branch is less diverse than another branch; the term may be equivocal in that it refers to the direction of the root of the tree, which represents a hypothetical ancestor. An extant basal group may or may not resemble the last common ancestor of a larger clade to a greater degree than other groups, is separated from that ancestor by the same amount of time as all other extant groups. However, there are cases where the unsually small size of a sister group does indeed correlate with an unusual number of ancestral traits, as in Amborella. Other famous examples of this phenomenon are the oviparous reproduction and nipple-less lactation of monotremes, a basal clade of mammals with just five species, the archaic anatomy of the tuatara, a basal clade of lepidosaurian with a single species; the flowering plant family Amborellaceae, restricted to New Caledonia in the southwestern Pacific, is a basal clade of extant angiosperms, consisting of the most basal species, genus and order within the group.
The traits of Amborella trichopoda are regarded as providing significant insight into the evolution of flowering plants. However, those traits are a mix of archaic and apomorphic features that have only been sorted out via comparison with other angiosperms and their positions within the phylogenetic tree. Within the primate family Hominidae, gorillas are a sister group to common chimpanzees and humans; these five species form the subfamily Homininae, of which Gorilla is the basal genus. However, if the analysis is not restricted to genera, the Homo plus Pan clade is basal. Moreover, orangutans are a sister group to Homininae and are the basal genus in the family as a whole. Subfamilies Homininae and Ponginae are both basal within Hominidae, but given that there are no nonbasal subfamilies in the cladogram it is unlikely the term would be applied to either. In general, a statement to the effect that one group is basal, or branches off first, within another group may not make sense unless the appropriate taxonomic level is specified.
If that level cannot be specified a more detailed description of the relevant sister groups may be needed. In this example, orangutans differ from the other genera in their Asian range; this fact plus their basal status provides a hint that the most recent common ancestor of extant great apes may have been Eurasian, a suggestion, consistent with other evidence. Orangutans differ from African apes in their more arboreal lifestyle, a
Australo-Papuan babbler
The Pomatostomidae are small to medium-sized birds endemic to Australia-New Guinea. For many years, the Australo-Papuan babblers were classified, rather uncertainly, with the Old World babblers, on the grounds of similar appearance and habits. More recent research, indicates that they are too basal to belong the Passerida – let alone the Sylvioidea where the Old World babblers are placed – and they are now classed as a separate family close to the Orthonychidae. Five species in one genus are recognised, although the red-breasted subspecies rubeculus of the grey-crowned babbler may prove to be a separate species; the Australo-Papuan babblers are medium-sized terrestrial birds with sombre plumage and long decurved bills. They range in 30 -- 85 g in weight; the wings are short and round, the tail is long and held fanned which makes it look broad as well. The feet and legs are strong and adapted to a terrestrial existence. There is no sexual dimorphism in the plumage, composed of brown and grey colours, with all but the Papuan babbler having striking white markings on the face and throat.
The plumage of juvenile birds is similar to that of adults. All five species are ground-feeding omnivores and social. Babblers live in family groups and small flocks of up to about 20 individuals and forage communally, calling loudly to one another all day long, they feed principally on insects and other invertebrates, but will take seeds and small vertebrates. Most food is obtained on the ground, although they will forage in low bushes; the long bill is used to overturn large objects. They will hold objects with one foot and hammer them with the bill in order to extract food. Australo-Papuan babblers are monogamous breeders; the breeding pair will be aided in breeding by a number of helpers from its group. This is similar to the cooperative breeding system used by the fish species Neolamprologus pulcher with the difference being that N. pulcher are polygynous instead of monogamous. A number of groups may have more than one breeding pair. Extra male helpers aid the male in his responsibilities whereas the females aid the main breeding female in hers.
They have an extended breeding season. Australo-Papuan babblers construct large nests for communal roosting, these nests may be used for breeding, or new nests may be constructed. There may be a large number of nests used by the group in a small area; when the female is breeding she alone uses the breeding nest. Construction, both of roosting and breeding nests, is undertaken by all birds in the group. Between one and six eggs are laid and are incubated by the breeding female alone; the breeding male and other helper males feed the breeding female during incubation. Incubation lasts between 19–25 days; the female broods the chicks until they are able to thermoregulate, the chicks fledge after 16–23 days. After leaving the nest, the chicks will continue to be fed by the adults for a number of months. Pseudo-babbler videos on the Internet Bird Collection
Cuckooshrike
The cuckooshrikes and allies in the family Campephagidae are small to medium-sized passerine bird species found in the subtropical and tropical Africa and Australasia. The 86 species are found in eight genera which comprise five distinct groups, the'true' cuckooshrikes the trillers, the minivets, the flycatcher-shrikes comprise a total of 316 taxa; the woodshrikes were considered to be in this family but are better placed in their own family, Tephrodornithidae, along with the philentomas and the flycatcher-shrikes. Another genus, which has one species, the black-breasted fruithunter, was placed in this family but has now been shown to be a thrush. Cuckooshrikes are not related to either the cuckoos or to the shrikes; some of the species bear a superficial resemblance to cuckoos, have a similar undulating flight. The grey colouration has led to one of the greybird. In some parts of the world they have been known as caterpillar-birds, a name derived from their diet. Although unsuspected earlier, DNA studies have suggested they may be related to the Old World orioles, although they differ in some morphological characteristics.
The genus Coracina is not monophyletic. Overall the cuckooshrikes are medium to small arboreal birds long and slender; the smallest species is the small minivet at 16 cm and 6–12 g, while the largest is the south Melanesian cuckooshrike at 35 cm and 180 grams. They are predominantly greyish with white and black, although the minivets are brightly coloured in red and black, the blue cuckooshrike of central Africa is all-over glossy blue; the four cuckooshrikes in the genus Campephaga exhibit sexual dimorphism, with males that have glossy black plumage and bright red or yellow wattles, the females having more subdued olive-green plumage. Of the 84 species of cuckooshrike, the majority are forest birds; some species are restricted to primary forest, like the New Caledonian cuckooshrike, others are able to use more disturbed forest. Around eleven species use much more open habitat, one Australian species, the ground cuckooshrike being found in open plains and scrubland with few trees. The'true' cuckooshrikes are found singly, in pairs, in small family groups, whereas the minivets, flycatcher-shrikes and wood-shrikes more form small flocks.
There is a considerable amount of variation within the family as a whole with regards to calls, some call infrequently and some, principally the minivets, are vocal. These are insectivorous, will take large hairy caterpillars, they have been recorded eating small vertebrates, some fruit and other plant matter. Information about the breeding of this family is incomplete, with many species having never been studied. In all the species studied the cuckooshrikes are territorial. Cuckooshrikes are monogamous, with the pair bonds lasting throughout the year. Only one instance of non-monogamous breeding has been recorded, an instance of polygyny in white-winged trillers in Australia, where one male aided two females in raising their young. Several species of cuckooshrike exhibit cooperative breeding. About four blotchy white, green or blue eggs are laid in a cup nest in a tree. Incubation is about two weeks. FAMILY: CAMPEPHAGIDAE Genus Coracina Ground cuckooshrike, Coracina maxima Large cuckooshrike, Coracina macei Sunda cuckooshrike, Coracina larvata Javan cuckooshrike, Coracina javensis Slaty cuckooshrike, Coracina schistacea Wallacean cuckooshrike, Coracina personata South Melanesian cuckooshrike, Coracina caledonica North Melanesian cuckooshrike, Coracina welchmani Black-faced cuckooshrike, Coracina novaehollandiae Stout-billed cuckooshrike, Coracina caeruleogrisea Bar-bellied cuckooshrike, Coracina striata Cebu bar-bellied cuckooshrike, Coracina striata cebuensis - extinct Andaman cuckooshrike, Coracina dobsoni Pied cuckooshrike, Coracina bicolor Moluccan cuckooshrike, Coracina atriceps Buru cuckooshrike, Coracina fortis Cerulean cuckooshrike, Coracina temminckii Barred cuckooshrike, Coracina lineata Boyer's cuckooshrike, Coracina boyeri White-rumped cuckooshrike, Coracina leucopygia White-bellied cuckooshrike, Coracina papuensis Hooded cuckooshrike, Coracina longicauda Genus Cyanograucalus Blue cuckooshrike, Cyanograucalus azureus Genus Malindangia McGregor's cuckooshrike, Malindangia mcgregori Genus Celebesica Pygmy cuckooshrike, Celebesica abbotti Genus Ceblepyris Grey cuckooshrike, Ceblepyris caesius Grauer's cuckooshrike, Ceblepyris graueri Madagascan cuckooshrike, Ceblepyris cinereus Comoros cuckooshrike, Ceblepyris cucullatus White-breasted cuckooshrike, Ceblepyris pectoralis Genus Edolisoma New Caledonian cuckooshrike, Edolisoma analis White-winged cuckooshrike, Edolisoma ostentum Blackish cuckooshrike, Edolisoma coerulescens Cebu blackish cuckooshrike, Edolisoma coerulescens altera - extinct Marinduque blackish cuckooshrike, Edolisoma coerulescens deschauenseei - extinct Black-bellied cuckooshrike, Edolisoma montanum Pale-shouldered cicadabird, Edolisoma dohertyi Kai cicadabird, Edolisoma dispar Grey-headed cuckooshrike, Edolisoma schisticeps Pale cicadabird, Edolisoma ceramense Black-bibbed cicadabird, Edolisoma mindanense Makira cicadabird, Edolisoma salomonis Sol
Australasian robin
The bird family Petroicidae includes 45 species in about 15 genera. All are endemic to Australasia: New Guinea, New Zealand and numerous Pacific Islands as far east as Samoa. For want of an accurate common name, the family is called the Australasian robins. Within the family the species are known not only as robins but as flycatchers, they are, only distantly related to the Old World family Muscicapidae and the monarch flycatchers. Most species have a compact build with a large, rounded head, a short, straight bill, rounded wingtips, they occupy a wide range of wooded habitats, from subalpine to tropical rainforest, mangrove swamps to semi-arid scrubland. All are insectivorous, although a few supplement their diet with seeds. Hunting is by perch and pounce, a favoured tactic being to cling sideways onto a treetrunk and scan the ground below without moving. Social organisation is centered on long-term pair-bonds and small family groups. Most members of the subfamily Eopsaltrinae practice cooperative breeding, with all family members helping defend a territory and feed nestlings.
Nests are cup-shaped constructed by the female, placed in a vertical fork of a tree or shrub. Many species are expert at adding moss, bark or lichen to the outside of the nest as camouflage, making it difficult to spot when it is in a prominent location. Although named after true robins, the Australian robins, along with many other insect-eating birds, were classified as flycatchers in a huge family Muscicapidae, they were classified for a time in the whistler family Pachycephalidae, before being placed in their own family Petroicidae, or Eopsaltridae. The relationship of the Petroicidae to other bird families is uncertain. In a more recent genetic study and several other families came out quite differently, they seem to form a distinct lineage of uncertain relationships as an early offshoot of Passerida diverging some 44 million years ago. However, all that can be said at present with reasonable certainty is that they are neither core Passerida nor a ancient songbird group. Acknowledging their position is unclear, current consensus places them as basal Passerida.
A comprehensive review, including an analysis of the osteological characters, by Schodde and Mason in 1999 illustrated three groupings, classified as subfamilies below: Testing of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA revealed some changes, proposed sinking of Tregellasia into Eopsaltria as the white-breasted robin's closest relatives appear to be the two taxa of Tregellasia. FAMILY: PETROICIDAE Subfamily: Drymodinae Genus: AmalocichlaGreater ground robin Lesser ground robin Genus: DrymodesSouthern scrub robin Northern scrub robin Papuan scrub robin Subfamily: Eopsaltriinae Genus: HeteromyiasGrey-headed robin Ashy robin Genus: PoecilodryasBlack-chinned robin Black-sided robin Buff-sided robin White-browed robin Black-throated robin Banded yellow robin Genus: TregellasiaPale-yellow robin White-faced robin Genus: EopsaltriaEastern yellow robin Western yellow robin White-breasted robin Genus: PeneoenantheMangrove robin, Peneoenanthe pulverulentaGenus: PeneothelloWhite-rumped robin Smoky robin Slaty robin White-winged robin Genus: MelanodryasHooded robin Dusky robin Subfamily: Petroicinae Genus: PachycephalopsisGreen-backed robin White-eyed robin Genus: EugerygoneGarnet robin, Eugerygone rubraGenus: PetroicaSnow Mountains robin South Island robin Mountain robin Scarlet robin Red-capped robin North Island robin Tomtit Chatham tomtit Pacific robin Norfolk robin Flame robin Pink robin Rose robin Black robin Genus: MicroecaJacky winter Lemon-bellied flyrobin Yellow-bellied flyrobin Olive flyrobin Yellow-legged flyrobin Golden-bellied flyrobin Canary flyrobin Genus: MonachellaTorrent flyrobin, Monachella muelleriana Del Hoyo, J..
Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 12: Picathartes to Tits and Chickadees. Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-84-96553-42-2 Mathews, G. M.: The Birds of Australia Vol. VIII, No. 4. Miller, Hilary C.. "A molecular phylogeny of New Zealand's Petroica species based on mitochondrial DNA sequences". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 40: 844–855. Doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2006.04.012. PMID 16750641. Boles, Walter E.. The Robins and Flycatchers of Australia. Sydney: Angus & Robertson. ISBN 0-207-15400-7. Petroi
Corvidae
Corvidae is a cosmopolitan family of oscine passerine birds that contains the crows, rooks, jays, treepies and nutcrackers. In common English, they are known as the crow family, or, more technically, corvids. Over 120 species are described; the genus Corvus, including the jackdaws, crows and ravens, makes up over a third of the entire family. Corvids display remarkable intelligence for animals of their size and are among the most intelligent birds thus far studied. Members of the family have demonstrated self-awareness in mirror tests and tool-making ability, skills which until were thought to be possessed only by humans and a few other higher mammals, their total brain-to-body mass ratio is equal to that of non-human great apes and cetaceans, only lower than that of humans. They are medium to large in size, with strong feet and bills, rictal bristles, a single moult each year. Corvids are found worldwide except for the tip of the polar ice caps; the majority of the species are found in tropical South and Central America, southern Asia and Eurasia, with fewer than 10 species each in Africa and Australasia.
The genus Corvus has re-entered Australia in recent geological prehistory, with five species and one subspecies there. Several species of raven have reached oceanic islands, some of these species are now threatened with extinction or have become extinct; the family Corvidae was introduced by the English zoologist William Elford Leach in a guide to the contents of the British Museum published in 1820. Over the years, much disagreement has arisen on the exact evolutionary relationships of the corvid family and their relatives. What seemed clear was that corvids are derived from Australasian ancestors and from there spread throughout the world. Other lineages derived from these ancestors evolved into ecologically diverse, but Australasian groups. In the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s, Sibley and Ahlquist united the corvids with other taxa in the Corvida, based on DNA–DNA hybridization; the presumed corvid relatives included currawongs, birds of paradise, quail-thrushes, monarch flycatchers and drongos, shrikes and vangas, but current research favors the theory that this grouping is artificial.
The corvids constitute the core group of the Corvoidea, together with their closest relatives. They are the core group of the Corvida, which includes the related groups, such as Old World orioles and vireos. Clarification of the interrelationships of the corvids has been achieved based on cladistic analysis of several DNA sequences; the jays and magpies do not constitute monophyletic lineages, but rather seem to split up into an American and Old World lineage, an Holarctic and Oriental lineage, respectively. These are not related among each other; the position of the azure-winged magpie, which has always been a major enigma, is less clear than before. The crested jay is traditionally included in the Corvidae, but might not be a true member of this family being closer to the helmetshrikes or shrikes; the Hume's ground "jay" is in fact a member of the tit family Paridae. The following tree represents current insights in the phylogeny of the Crow family according to J. Boyd; the earliest corvid fossils date to the mid-Miocene, about 17 million years ago.
The known prehistoric corvid genera appear to be of the New World and Old World jay and Holarctic magpie lineages: Miocorvus Miopica Miocitta Corvidae gen. et sp. indet. Protocitta Corvidae gen. et sp. indet. - belongs in an extant genus Henocitta In addition, there are numerous fossil species of extant genera since the Mio–Pliocene European Corvus. Corvids are large to large passerines with a robust build, strong legs and all species except the pinyon jay have nostrils covered by bristle-like feathers. Many corvids of temperate zones have black or blue coloured plumage; the sexes are similar in color and size. Corvids have stout bills and large wingspans; the family includes the largest members of the passerine order. The smallest corvid is the dwarf jay, at 21.5 cm. The largest corvids are the common raven and the thick-billed raven, both of which exceed 1,400 grams and 65 cm. Species can be identified based on size and geography. Corvids occur in most climatic zones. Most do not migrate significantly.
However, during a shortage of food, eruptive migration can occur. When species are migratory, they will form large flocks in the travel south. One reason for the success of crows, compared to ravens, is their ability to overlap breeding territory. During breeding season, cr
