The Pachycephalidae are a family of bird species that includes the whistlers, shrikethrushes, and three of the pitohuis, and is part of the ancient Australo-Papuan radiation of songbirds. The family includes 64 species that are separated into five genera. Its members range from small to medium in size, and occupy most of Australasia. Australia and New Guinea are the centre of their diversity and, in the case of the whistlers, the South Pacific islands as far as Tonga and Samoa and parts of Asia as far as India. The exact delimitation of boundaries of the family are uncertain, and one species, the golden whistler, has been the subject of intense taxonomic scrutiny in recent years, with multiple subspecies and species-level revisions.
Acanthiza is a genus of passeriform birds, most endemic to Australia, but with two species restricted to New Guinea. These birds are commonly known as thornbills. They are not closely related to species in the hummingbird genera Chalcostigma and Ramphomicron, which are also called thornbills.
The yellow-throated scrubwren is a passerine in the family Acanthizidae that is found in parts of eastern coastal Australia. It was formerly placed in the genus Sericornis, but is now the only species in the genus Neosericornis.
Aphelocephala is a genus of bird in the thornbill family Acanthizidae. The three species are collectively known as whitefaces. They are endemic to Australia, generally occurring in the arid centre of the continent. They are a striking looking bird, particularly compared to their duller looking relatives, having dark upperparts and white breasts and faces. Two species, the chestnut-breasted and banded whitefaces, break up the white undersides with a darker band. The three species have stubby bills and unlike the rest of the Acanthizidae they consume large numbers of seeds in their diet.
The rufous fieldwren also known as the desert wren or sandplain wren is a species of insectivorous bird in the family Acanthizidae, endemic to Australia.
The striated fieldwren is a species of bird in the family Acanthizidae, endemic to Australia.
The bristlebirds are a family of passerine birds, Dasyornithidae. There are three species in one genus, Dasyornis. The family is endemic to the south-east coast and south-west corner of Australia. The genus Dasyornis was sometimes placed in the Acanthizidae or, as a subfamily, Dasyornithinae, along with the Acanthizinae and Pardalotinae, within an expanded Pardalotidae, before being elevated to full family level by Christidis & Boles (2008).
Gerygone, the gerygones or peep-warblers, is a genus of bird in the family Acanthizidae. 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 Australia and New Guinea; only one, the golden-bellied gerygone, has managed to cross Wallace's Line and colonise as far as Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines.
The shy heathwren is a species of small bird in the family Acanthizidae, endemic to Australia. They inhabit mostly mallee woodland that has relatively dense shrub and heath understorey.
Hylacola is a genus of bird in the family Acanthizidae.
The chestnut-rumped heathwren is a species of bird in the family Acanthizidae. It is endemic to temperate and subtropical forests and heathlands of Australia.
The fernwren is a species of bird in the family Acanthizidae. It is monotypic within the genus Oreoscopus.
The redthroat is a small, mostly ground-dwelling species of bird in the family Acanthizidae. It is endemic to Australia, occurring mostly in arid and semi-arid areas containing acacia and chenopod shrublands. The species has a distinctive red throat patch and is able to mimic the calls of numerous other bird species.
Pyrrholaemus is a genus of birds in the family Acanthizidae.
Sericornis is a genus of small, mainly insectivorous birds, the scrubwrens in the family Acanthizidae. Despite the similarity in shape and habits, the true wrens (Troglodytidae) are a quite unrelated group of passerines.
Origma is a genus of passerine birds in the family Acanthizidae.
Acanthizidae—sometimes called Australian warblers—are a family of passerine birds which includes gerygones, thornbills Acanthiza, and scrubwrens Sericornis. The family Acanthizidae consists of small to medium passerine birds, with a total length varying between 8 and 19 centimetres. They have short rounded wings, slender bills, long legs, and a short tail. Most species have olive, grey, or brown plumage, although some have patches of a brighter yellow. The weebill is the smallest species of acanthizid, and the smallest Australian passerine; the largest is the pilotbird.
Leslie Christidis, also simply known as Les Christidis, is an Australian ornithologist. His main research field is the evolution and systematics of birds. He has been director of Southern Cross University National Marine Science Centre since 2009. He was assistant director at Sydney's Australian Museum from 2004 to 2009.
The western fieldwren is a species of bird in the family Acanthizidae, endemic to southwestern Australia. It is often considered a subspecies of the rufous fieldwren, most notably by Christidis and Boles in their 2008 work, but as a separate species by many other authorities including the International Ornithological Committee.
Aethomyias is a genus of passerine birds in the family Acanthizidae that are endemic to New Guinea.
