Ailuroedus
| Ailuroedus | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Ptilonorhynchidae |
| Genus: | Ailuroedus Cabanis, 1851 |
| Type species | |
| Ptilonorhynchus smithii Vigors & Horsfield, 1827=Lanius crassirostris Paykull, 1815 | |
| Species | |
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see text | |
Ailuroedus is a genus of birds in the bowerbird family, Ptilonorhynchidae, native to forests in Australia and New Guinea. The common name, catbird, refers to these species' "wailing cat-like calls".[1] The scientific name Ailuroedus is derived from the Greek 'ailouros', meaning cat, and 'eidos', referring to form (or perhaps from oaidos, singer).
Taxonomy
[edit]The genus Ailuroedus was introduced in 1851 by the German ornithologist Jean Cabanis to accommodate a single species, Ptilonorhynchus smithii Vigors and Horsfield.[2] This is a junior synonym of Lanius crassirostris Paykull, 1815, the green catbird.[3] The genus name combines the Ancient Greek αιλουρος/ailouros meaning "cat" with αοιδος/aoidos or ωδος/ōdos meaning "singer".[4]
Traditionally, the Ailuroedus catbirds were classified as consisting as either two[5][6] or three species.[7] A 2016 genetic and morphological study by Martin Irestedt and collaborators found that the taxa formed distinct genetic lineages.[8] Based on this result the taxa were separated into ten species.[9] Some of the taxa were also included in a genetic study published in 2020.[10] However in 2025 AviList reconsidered the Ailuroedus melanotis complex and chose to treat it as three rather than seven species based on the modest genetic and morphological differences.[11]
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Species
[edit]The genus contains six species:[11]
- White-eared catbird, Ailuroedus buccoides – northwestern New Guinea eastward to southeastern Cenderawasih Bay, including Raja Ampat Islands (off western New Guinea)
- Ochre-breasted catbird, Ailuroedus stonii – south and southeast New Guinea
- Tan-capped catbird, Ailuroedus geislerorum – Yapen (Geelvink Bay, northwest New Guinea), north lowlands and north watershed of southeast New Guinea
- Spotted catbird, Ailuroedus maculosus – northeastern Australia (Wet Tropics region, northern Queensland)
- Black-eared catbird, Ailuroedus melanotis – northern Queensland, Australia, and New Guinea, including its surrounding islands (includes the Huon, Black-capped, Northern and Arfak catbirds)
- Green catbird, Ailuroedus crassirostris – eastern Australia (Kroombit Tops, southeastern Queensland to southern New South Wales)
Description
[edit]Catbirds are characterize by ivory-colored bill with the hooked maxilla, large head, green dorsal plumage, ventral spotting, powerful grasping claws and fig-eating habit.[12]
In contrast to the other genera within the Ptilonorhynchidae family, all of the Ailuroedus catbirds lack marked sexual dimorphism, are pair bonded, monogamous breeders, with both parents caring for the offspring.[1][13] They form pair bonds in which the male helps to build the nest, and have simple arboreal chasing displays, without bowers or stages.[13]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Rowland, Peter (2008). Bowerbirds. CSIRO Publishing. p. 7. ISBN 978-0-643-09420-8. Retrieved 2009-05-07.
- ^ Cabanis, Jean (1850–1851). Museum Heineanum : Verzeichniss der ornithologischen Sammlung des Oberamtmann Ferdinand Heine, auf Gut St. Burchard vor Halberstadt (in German and Latin). Vol. 1. Halberstadt: R. Frantz. p. 213, footnote. For the publication date of volume 1 see: Dickinson, E.C.; Overstreet, L.K.; Dowsett, R.J.; Bruce, M.D. (2011). Priority! The Dating of Scientific Names in Ornithology: a Directory to the literature and its reviewers. Northampton, UK: Aves Press. pp. 80–81. ISBN 978-0-9568611-1-5.
- ^ Mayr, Ernst; Greenway, James C. Jr, eds. (1962). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 15. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 172.
- ^ Jobling, James A. "Ailuroedus". The Key to Scientific Names. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Retrieved 30 May 2025.
- ^ Mayr, Ernst; Greenway, James C. Jr, eds. (1962). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 15. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. pp. 172–175.
- ^ 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. 141. ISBN 978-0-9568611-2-2.
- ^ Frith, C.B.; Frith, D.W. (2009). "Family Ptilonorhynchidae (Bowerbirds)". In del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Sargatal, J. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World. Vol. 14: Bush-shrikes to Old World Sparrows. Barcelona, Spain: Lynx Edicions. pp. 350-403 [393-394]. ISBN 978-84-96553-50-7.
- ^ Irestedt, M.; Batalha-Filho, H.; Roselaar, C.S.; Christidis, L.; Ericson, P.G.P. (2016). "Contrasting phylogeographic signatures in two Australo-Papuan bowerbird species complexes (Aves: Ailuroedus)". Zoologica Scripta. 45 (4): 365–379. doi:10.1111/zsc.12163.
- ^ Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (February 2025). "Lyrebirds, scrubbirds, bowerbirds, Australasian treecreepers, Australasian wrens". IOC World Bird List Version 15.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
- ^ Ericson, P.G.P.; Irestedt, M.; Nylander, J.A.A.; Christidis, L.; Joseph, L.; Qu, Y. (2020). "Parallel evolution of bower-building behavior in two groups of bowerbirds suggested by phylogenomics". Systematic Biology. 69 (5): 820–829. doi:10.1093/sysbio/syaa040. PMC 7440736.
- ^ a b AviList Core Team (2025). "AviList: The Global Avian Checklist, v2025". doi:10.2173/avilist.v2025. Retrieved 16 December 2025.
- ^ Beehler, Bruce McPherson; Pratt, Thane K. (2016). Birds of New Guinea: distribution, taxonomy, and systematics. Princeton (N.J.): Princeton university press. ISBN 978-0-691-16424-3.
- ^ a b Gregory, Phil (2020). Birds of Paradise and Bowerbirds: An Identification Guide. Princeton University Press. p. 323. ISBN 9780691202143.
