Shrikethrush

Shrikethrushes
Grey shrikethrush (C. harmonica)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Pachycephalidae
Subfamily: Pachycephalinae
Genus: Colluricincla
Vigors & Horsfield, 1827
Type species
Colluricincla cinerea[1]
Vigors & Horsfield, 1827
Synonyms
  • Alphacincla Mathews, 1914
  • Bowyeria Mathews, 1912
  • Caleya Mathews, 1913
  • Collurisoma Rafinesque, 1815
  • Collyriocichla
  • Collyriocincla
  • Conigravea Mathews, 1913
  • Malacolestes Mayr, 1933
  • Myialestes
  • Myiolestes Bonaparte, 1850

A shrikethrush, also spelled shrike-thrush, is any one of eleven species of songbird that is a member of the genus Colluricincla. They have nondescript, predominantly brown or grey, plumage, but are accomplished singers,[2] their calls described as "strong, mellow and beautiful."[3] Shrikethrushes are generally insectivorous, though have been recorded eating molluscs and berries. They build cup-shaped nests in the forks of trees.[4]

  1. ^ "Pachycephalidae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
  2. ^ Slater, Peter (1974). A Field Guide to Australian Birds: Passerines. Adelaide, South Australia: Rigby. p. 192. ISBN 0-85179-813-6.
  3. ^ Bruce Campbell; Elizabeth Lack (2010). A Dictionary of Birds. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 390. ISBN 9781408138380.
  4. ^ Gould, John (1848). An introduction to the Birds of Australia. Published by the author. p. 38.