Shrikebills | |
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Black-throated shrikebill | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Passeriformes |
Family: | Monarchidae |
Genus: | Clytorhynchus Elliot, 1870 |
Type species | |
Clytorhynchus pachycephaloides[1] Elliot, 1870
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Diversity | |
5 species | |
Synonyms | |
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The shrikebills are the monarch flycatcher genus Clytorhynchus. The five species have long laterally compressed bills similar to true shrikes that give them their names. The genus is endemic to the islands of Melanesia and western Polynesia.[2]
The shrikebills are insectivorous, and use their large heavy bills to explore tangles of dead leaves and dead wood; an unusual foraging strategy for their family.[2] Their diet may also include small fruits and lizards.