Shrikes are passerine birds of the family Laniidae. The family is composed of 34 species in two genera.
The birds-of-paradise are members of the family Paradisaeidae of the order Passeriformes. The majority of species are found in eastern Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and eastern Australia. The family has 45 species in 17 genera. The members of this family are perhaps best known for the plumage of the males of the species, the majority of which are sexually dimorphic. The males of these species tend to have very long, elaborate feathers extending from the beak, wings, tail, or head. For the most part, they are confined to dense rainforest habitats. The diet of all species is dominated by fruit and to a lesser extent arthropods. The birds-of-paradise have a variety of breeding systems, ranging from monogamy to lek-type polygamy.
The Australasian wrens are a family, Maluridae, of small, insectivorous passerine birds endemic to Australia and New Guinea. While commonly known as wrens, they are unrelated to the true wrens. The family comprises 32 species in six genera.
The pitohuis are bird species endemic to New Guinea. The onomatopoeic name is thought to be derived from that used by New Guineans from nearby Dorey (Manokwari), but it is also used as the name of a genus Pitohui which was established by the French naturalist René Lesson in 1831. The unitalicized common name however refers to perching birds that belong to several genera of multiple bird families. The genera include Ornorectes, Melanorectes, and Pseudorectes apart from Pitohui.
The hooded pitohui is a species of bird in the genus Pitohui found in New Guinea. It was long thought to be a whistler (Pachycephalidae) but is now known to be in the Old World oriole family (Oriolidae). Within the oriole family, this species is most closely related to the variable pitohuis in the genus Pitohui, and then the figbirds.
The yellowhead or mohua is a small insectivorous passerine bird endemic to the South Island of New Zealand. Once a common forest bird, its numbers declined drastically after the introduction of rats and stoats, and it is now near threatened.
Lanius, the typical shrikes, are a genus of passerine birds in the shrike family Laniidae. The majority of the family's species are placed in this genus. The genus name, Lanius, is derived from the Latin word for "butcher", and some shrikes are also known as "butcher birds" because of their feeding habits. The common English name "shrike" is from Old English scríc, "shriek", referring to the shrill call.
The wattled ploughbill is a small bird from New Guinea. It is the only member of the monotypic genus Eulacestoma and family Eulacestomatidae. It is also known as the wattled shrike-tit or ploughshare tit.
Pachycephala is a genus of birds native to Oceania and Southeast Asia. They are commonly known as typical whistlers. Older guidebooks may refer to them as thickheads, a literal translation of the generic name, which is derived from the Ancient Greek terms pachys "thick" + kephale "head". This lineage originated in Australo-Papua and later colonized the Indonesian and Philippine archipelagos to the west and the Pacific archipelagos to the east.
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, their calls described as "strong, mellow and beautiful." Shrikethrushes are generally insectivorous, though have been recorded eating molluscs and berries. They build cup-shaped nests in the forks of trees.
The pygmy cuckooshrike is a species of bird in the cuckooshrike family Campephagidae. It is endemic to the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.
McGregor's cuckooshrike or the sharp-tailed cuckooshrike, is a species of bird in the family Campephagidae. It is endemic to Mindanao island (Philippines).
The hooded butcherbird is a species of passerine bird in the family Artamidae. It is found in New Guinea. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest.
The melampittas are a family, Melampittidae, of New Guinean birds containing two enigmatic species. The two species are found in two genera, the greater melampitta in the genus Megalampitta and the lesser melampitta in the genus Melampitta. They are little studied and before being established as a family in 2014 their taxonomic relationships with other birds were uncertain, being considered at one time related variously to the pittas, Old World babblers and birds-of-paradise.
Parrotfinches are small, colourful passerine birds belonging to the genus Erythrura in the family Estrildidae, the estrildid finches. They occur from South-east Asia to New Guinea, and many Pacific Islands. They inhabit forest, bamboo thickets and grassland and some can be found in man-made habitats such as farmland, parks and gardens. Several species are commonly kept as cagebirds.
Oreoicidae is a newly recognized family of small insectivorous songbirds from New Guinea and Australia, commonly known as the Australo-Papuan bellbirds. The family contains three genera, each containing a single species: Aleadryas, which contains the rufous-naped bellbird; Ornorectes, which contains the piping bellbird; and Oreoica, which contains the crested bellbird.
The New Caledonian whistler is a species of bird in the family Pachycephalidae. It is endemic to New Caledonia.
Pitohui is a genus of birds endemic to New Guinea. The birds formerly lumped together as pitohuis were found by a 2008 study that examined their evolutionary history on the basis of the genetic sequences to have included birds that were quite unrelated to each other. They have since been separated into other genera.
The Biak whistler is a species of bird in the family Pachycephalidae. It is endemic to Biak in Indonesia.
