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| Smithornis | |
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| Grey-headed broadbill (Smithornis sharpei) | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Calyptomenidae |
| Genus: | Smithornis Bonaparte, 1850[1] |
| Type species | |
| Platyrhynchus capensis[2] A. Smith, 1839
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| Species | |
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see Text | |
Smithornis is a genus of birds in the family Calyptomenidae, the broadbills. The genus comprises three species native to Africa.
Before 1914 this genus was classified in the Old World flycatcher family, Muscicapidae, due to certain similarities.[3][4] Closer examination of the morphology and anatomical features of these birds resulted in their being reclassified in the Eurylaimidae.
It is hypothesized that Smithornis is a monophyletic genus, well separated from other birds in the Eurylaimidae. The differentiation occurred as a result of a division and diversification between Asian and African broadbills.[4]
- ^ Bonaparte, Ch.L. (1850). Conspectus generum avium (in Latin). Vol. 1. Lugduni Batavorum: E.J. Brill. p. 322.
- ^ "Calyptomenidae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-07-24.
- ^ Chapin, J. P. The Birds of the Belgian Congo: Part 3. Vol. 75A. New York: Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, 1953. Print.
- ^ a b Prum, R. O. (1993). Phylogeny, biogeography, and evolution of the broadbills (Eurylaimidae) and asities (Philepittidae) based on morphology. The Auk 110(2) 304-24.