Melanocichla | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Passeriformes |
Family: | Timaliidae |
Genus: | Melanocichla Sharpe, 1883 |
Type species | |
Timalia lugubris (black laughingthrush) S. Müller, 1835 | |
Species | |
see text |
Melanocichla is a genus of birds in the Old World babbler family Timaliidae.
The genus Melanocichla was introduced in 1883 by the English ornithologist Richard Bowdler Sharpe to accommodate a single species, the black laughingthrush, which is therefore the type species of the genus. [1] [2] The name combines the Ancient Greek melas meaning "black" with kikhlkikhlē meaning "thrush". [3]
A 2019 molecular phylogenetic study found that the genus Melanocichla was sister to the genus Pomatorhinus containing the scimitar babblers. [4]
The genus contains the following species: [5]
Image | Common Name | Scientific name | Distribution |
---|---|---|---|
![]() | Black laughingthrush | Melanocichla lugubris | extreme south Thailand, Malaysia and Sumatra |
![]() | Bare-headed laughingthrush | Melanocichla calva | Borneo |