Parrotbill

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Parrotbill
Spot-breasted Parrotbill - Chiang Mai - Thailand S4E9657 (19364593139).jpg
Spot-breasted parrotbill (Paradoxornis guttaticollis)
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Superfamily: Sylvioidea
Family: Paradoxornithidae
Horsfield & Moore, 1854
Genera

The parrotbills are a family, Paradoxornithidae, of passerine birds that are primarily native to East, Southeast and South Asia, with a single species in western North America, though feral populations exist elsewhere. They are generally small birds that inhabit reedbeds, forests and similar habitats. The traditional parrotbills feed mainly on seeds, e.g. of grasses, to which their robust bill, as the name implies, is well-adapted. Members of the family are usually non-migratory.

Contents

The bearded reedling or "bearded tit", a Eurasian species formerly placed here, is more insectivorous by comparison, especially in summer. It also strikingly differs in morphology, such as its finer bill, and has again been moved to the monotypic family Panuridae. Conversely, a number of other mostly insectivorous species that traditionally were placed in Timaliidae (Old World babblers), for example the fulvettas and fire-tailed myzornis, along with the wrentit (a species with a conflicting taxonomic history), have been moved into Paradoxornithidae. DNA sequence data supports this.

Their general habitus and acrobatic habits resemble birds like the long-tailed tits. Together with these and others they were at some time placed in the titmouse family Paridae. Later studies found no justification to presume a close relationship between all these birds, and consequently the parrotbills and bearded reedling were removed from the tits and chickadees and placed into a distinct family. As names like Paradoxornis paradoxus – "puzzling, paradox bird" – suggest, their true relationships were very unclear, although by the latter 20th century they were generally seen as close to Timaliidae (Old World babblers) and Sylviidae (Old World warblers).

Taxonomy

Since 1990 (Sibley & Ahlquist 1990), [1] molecular data has been added to aid the efforts of discovering the parrotbills' true relationships. As Paradoxornis species are generally elusive and in many cases little-known birds, usually specimens of the bearded reedling which are far more easy to procure were used for the analyses. Often, the entire group was entirely left out of analyses, being small and seemingly insignificant in the large pattern of bird evolution (e.g. Barker et al. 2002, 2004). The bearded reedling tended to appear close to larks in phylogenies based on e.g. DNA-DNA hybridization (Sibley & Ahlquist 1990), or on mtDNA cytochrome b and nDNA c-myc exon 3, RAG-1 and myoglobin intron 2 sequence data (Ericson & Johansson 2003). Placement in a superfamily Sylvioidea which contained birds such as Sylviidae, Timaliidae and long-tailed tits – but not Paridae – was confirmed.

Cibois (2003a) analyzed mtDNA cytochrome b and 12S/16S rRNA sequences of some Sylvioidea, among them several species of Paradoxornis but not the bearded reedling. These formed a robust clade closer to the Sylvia typical warblers and some presumed "Old World babblers" such as Chrysomma sinense than to other birds. The puzzle was finally resolved by Alström et al. (2006), who studied mtDNA cytochrome b and nDNA myoglobin intron 2 sequences of a wider range of Sylvioidea: The bearded reedling was not a parrotbill at all, but forms a distinct lineage on its own, the relationships of which are not entirely resolved at present. The parrotbills' presence in the clade containing Sylvia, on the other hand, necessitates that the Paradoxornithidae are placed in synonymy of the Sylviidae. Cibois (2003b) even suggested that these themselves were to be merged with the remaining Timaliidae and the latter name to be adopted. This has hitherto not been followed and researchers remain equivocal as many taxa in Sylviidae and Timaliidae remain to be tested for their relationships. In any case, it is most likely that the typical warbler-parrotbill group is monophyletic and therefore agrees with the modern requirements for a taxon. Hence, whether to keep or to synonymize it is entirely a matter of philosophy, as the scientific facts would agree with either approach.

The interesting conclusion from an evolutionary point of view is that the morphologically both internally homogenous and compared to each other highly dissimilar typical warblers and parrotbills form the two extremes in the divergent evolution of the Sylviidae. This is underscored by looking at the closest living relatives of the parrotbills in the rearranged Sylviidae: The genus Chrysomma are non-specialized species altogether intermediate in habitus, habitat and habits between the typical warblers and the parrotbills. Presumably, the ancestral sylviids looked much like these birds. How dramatic the evolutionary changes wrought upon the parrotbills in their adaptation to feeding on grass caryopses and similar seeds were can be seen by comparing them with the typical fulvettas, which were formerly considered Timaliidae and united with the alcippes (Pasquet 2006). These look somewhat like drab fairy-wrens and have none of the parrotbills' adaptations to food and habitat. Yet it appears that the typical fulvettas' and parrotbills' common ancestor evolved into at least two parrotbill lineages independently (Cibois 2003a) & (Yeung et al. 2006). Only the wrentit, the only American sylviid, resembles the parrotbills much in habitus, though not in color pattern, and of course, as an insectivore, neither in bill shape.

The phylogenetic relationships between the Paradoxornithidae and other families was determined in a molecular phylogenetic study by Tianlong Cai and collaborators that was published in 2019. It is shown in the cladogram below:. [2] [3]

Pycnonotidae – bulbuls (160 species)

Sylviidae – sylviid babblers (34 species)

Paradoxornithidae – parrotbills and myzornis (38 species)

Zosteropidae – white-eyes (146 species)

Timaliidae – tree babblers (56 species)

Pellorneidae – ground babblers (65 species)

Alcippeidae – Alcippe fulvettas (10 species)

Leiothrichidae – laughingthrushes and allies (133 species)

The cladogram below shows the relationships between the genera in the family Paradoxornithidae. It is based on the results of the molecular phylogenetic study by Tianlong Cai and collaborators and the generic divisions adopted by Frank Gill, Pamela Rasmussen and David Donsker in the list of birds maintained on behalf of the International Ornithological Committee. [2] [3]

Paradoxornithidae

Myzornis – fire-tailed myzornis

Moupinia – rufous-tailed babbler

Lioparus – golden-breasted fulvetta

Chrysomma – babblers (2 species)

Rhopophilus – babblers (2 species)

Fulvetta – fulvettas (8 species)

Chamaea – wrentit

Paradoxornis – parrotbills (10 species)

Suthora – parrotbills (12 species)

Species

There are 38 species of parrotbills and allies distributed among 9 genera. [3] This list is presented according to the IOC taxonomic sequence and can also be sorted alphabetically by common name and binomial.

GenusImageCommon nameBinomial nameIOC sequence
Myzornis Blyth, 1843 GarimaBhatia Fire-tailed Myzornis IMG 1977.jpg Fire-tailed myzornis Myzornis pyrrhoura1
Moupinia David & Oustalet, 1877 Rufous-tailed babbler Moupinia poecilotis2
Lioparus Oates, 1889 Golden-breasted Fulvetta - Bhutan S4E0339 (19360826259).jpg Golden-breasted fulvetta Lioparus chrysotis3
Chrysomma Blyth, 1843 Yellow-eyed babbler (Chrysomma sinense) Photograph by Shantanu Kuveskar.jpg Yellow-eyed babbler Chrysomma sinense4
Jerdon's Babbler Roing Grassland Arunachal Pradesh India April 2019.jpg Jerdon's babbler Chrysomma altirostre5
Rhopophilus Giglioli & Salvadori, 1870 Tarim babbler Rhopophilus albosuperciliaris6
Beijing babbler Rhopophilus pekinensis7
Fulvetta David & Oustalet, 1877 Fulvetta ruficapilla 01.jpg Spectacled fulvetta Fulvetta ruficapilla8
Indochinese fulvetta Fulvetta danisi9
Chinese fulvetta Fulvetta striaticollis10
White-browed Fulvetta (34587576632).jpg White-browed fulvetta Fulvetta vinipectus11
Brown-throated (Ludlow) Fulvetta - Sela Pass - Arunachal Pradesh - India.jpg Brown-throated fulvetta Fulvetta ludlowi12
Manipur Fulvetta Mishmi Hills Arunachal Pradesh April 2019.jpg Manipur fulvetta Fulvetta manipurensis13
Fulvetta cinereiceps.jpg Grey-hooded fulvetta Fulvetta cinereiceps14
Streak-throated Fulvetta - Taiwan S4E6852 (19551581381).jpg Taiwan fulvetta Fulvetta formosana15
Chamaea Gambel, 1847 Wrentit edit.jpg Wrentit Chamaea fasciata16
Paradoxornis Gould, 1836 Paradoxornis heudei 2023-2.jpg Reed parrotbill Paradoxornis heudei17
Black-breasted parrotbill (cropped).jpg Black-breasted parrotbill Paradoxornis flavirostris18
Spot-breasted Parrotbill @ Murlen.jpg Spot-breasted parrotbill Paradoxornis guttaticollis19
Conostoma aemodium.jpg Great parrotbill Paradoxornis aemodium20
Brown Parrotbill (Cholornis unicolor).jpg Brown parrotbill Paradoxornis unicolor21
Paradoxornis paradoxus, Wawu Shan, Sichuan.jpg Three-toed parrotbill Paradoxornis paradoxus22
Gray-headed Parrotbill - Chiang Mai - Thailand S4E8606 (19363163690).jpg Grey-headed parrotbill Paradoxornis gularis23
Black-headed parrotbill Paradoxornis margaritae24
Paradoxornis ruficeps.jpg White-breasted parrotbill Paradoxornis ruficeps25
Paradoxornis bakeri-A9 01767.jpg Rufous-headed parrotbill Paradoxornis bakeri26
Suthora Hodgson, 1837 Short-tailed parrotbill Suthora davidiana27
Fulvous Parrotbill.jpg Fulvous parrotbill Suthora fulvifrons28
Black-throated Parrotbill Neora Valley National Park West Bengal India 29.04.2016.jpg Black-throated parrotbill Suthora nipalensis29
Golden Parrotbill.jpg Golden parrotbill Suthora verreauxi30
Suthora atrosuperciliaris-A9 02940.jpg Pale-billed parrotbill Suthora atrosuperciliaris31
Spectacled parrotbill Suthora conspicillata32
Grey-hooded parrotbill Suthora zappeyi33
Suthora brunnea A9 08408.jpg Brown-winged parrotbill Suthora brunnea34
Eye-ringed parrotbill Suthora ricketti35
Parrotbill 0780.jpg Vinous-throated parrotbill Suthora webbiana36
Ashy-throated Parrotbill (Sinosuthora alphonsiana) (8077153987) (cropped).jpg Ashy-throated parrotbill Suthora alphonsiana37
Suthora przewalskii.png Przevalski's parrotbill Suthora przewalskii38

Egg recognition

Parrotbill egg recognition is the ability of the parrotbill to distinguish its own eggs against the eggs of a brood parasite. [4] Without their own eggs in the nest, parrotbills are not able to identify whether their nest has been intruded by the eggs of a brood parasite. [4] Because the colour and number of eggs may vary, there are varying outcomes to whether parrotbills will reject or accept the eggs whether it be their own or if they are acting host for another species. [4] Cognitive mechanisms including recognition by discordance and template-based recognition are hypothesized to be the manner in which a host's eggs are identified. [5] The common cuckoo lays its eggs in the nests of parrotbills and the two have co-evolved together over time to promote the reproductive success of both species. [6] The common cuckoo is an example of an avian brood parasite that reduces the energy cost of caring for its eggs by placing them in the parrotbill's nest. [4]

Depending on the parrotbill species, the eggs will either be maculate with spots or marks or immaculate, meaning without spots or marks. [4] [7] The cuckoo is also able to lay eggs that replicate the ones of its hosts in a means to have its eggs accepted by the host. [4] Whether the parasitic eggs are accepted by the host is based on two hypothetical cognitive mechanisms. [4] True or template-based recognition predicts that by learning or by instinct, the parrotbill would be able to reject the brood parasite eggs. [4] If learned, the parrotbill would imprint on its own eggs and would be able to use it as a template to compare to foreign eggs. [4] Recognition by discordancy is the least favoured hypothesis among scientists of the two mechanisms, but describes the action of rejecting the eggs which appear to be the minority whether it is their own eggs or the parasite's eggs; it does not require learning or instinctive behaviour. [4] Some studies have predicted discordancy is favoured as certain species demonstrate the behaviour at all life stages; if the behaviour is demonstrated at a young age, it may not be an example of learning as the time for learning could be too short. [5]

One parrotbill species that has been studied is the ashy-throated parrotbill (Paradoxornis alphonsianus) and demonstrated the use of both mechanisms relaying there may not be one "universal method". [4] The eggs of the ashy-throated parrotbill are immaculate and polymorphic in which multiple phenotypic colours in that species is produced; its eggs are placed in competition with the eggs of the common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus). [4] Typically, the female cuckoo lays its eggs in the nest of the parrotbill after taking out one of the host's eggs. [5] The immaculate colours in this species are blue, pale blue and white, but only one colour is present at a time and the female produces only one colour over its lifetime. [4] [5]

If parrotbills do not have their own eggs within the nest, it has been observed they accept the eggs of the avian brood parasite, as the "cue" of the presence of their own eggs has not been established. [4] Time is also important for both male and female parrotbills as it can be the factor in whether the parrotbill will recognize parasitic eggs. [5] For females, it is crucial they learn the egg phenotype as the eggs are being laid, but if this learning is not immediate, parasitic eggs can be accepted and imprinted. [5] Males learn their respective egg phenotype once the clutch has reached completion. [5]

In some species, male parrotbills also incubate eggs, and they are predicted to follow discordancy recognition for this behaviour as the males may encounter multiple egg types with different mates over time. [4] This could lead to rejection of their own eggs based on previous knowledge of egg colour. [4] A possible exception to this idea is if the host parrotbill produces eggs that are monomorphic. [5] If male parrotbills do not imprint on their own eggs, they increase the probability of production of varied phenotypes of egg colour and patterns within the population. [5]

If a host species is new to an area, it is suspected cuckoo parasitism will be favoured as recognition of parasitic eggs has not yet occurred. [6] Over time, the two species co-evolve with the parrotbill first utilizing one of the hypothesized cognitive mechanisms in order to recognize parasitic eggs. [5] In order to compensate for this new behaviour in parrotbills, the parasite produces eggs that are similar to those of the host and leads to the evolution of polymorphisms over time for both species. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Passerine</span> Any bird of the order Passeriformes, sometimes known as perching birds

A passerine is any bird of the order Passeriformes which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines generally have an anisodactyl arrangement of their toes, which facilitates perching.

Old World warblers are a large group of birds formerly grouped together in the bird family Sylviidae. They are not closely related to the New World warblers. The family held over 400 species in over 70 genera, and were the source of much taxonomic confusion. Two families were split out initially, the cisticolas into Cisticolidae and the kinglets into Regulidae. In the past ten years they have been the subject of much research and many species are now placed into other families, including the Acrocephalidae, Cettiidae, Phylloscopidae, and Megaluridae. In addition some species have been moved into existing families or have not yet had their placement fully resolved. A smaller number of warblers, together with some babblers formerly placed in the family Timaliidae and the parrotbills, are retained in a much smaller family Sylviidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sylviidae</span> Family of birds

Sylviidae is a family of passerine birds that includes the typical warblers and a number of babblers formerly placed within the Old World babbler family. They are found in Eurasia and Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Typical warbler</span> Genus of birds

The typical warblers are small birds belonging to the genus Sylvia in the "Old World warbler" family Sylviidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old World babbler</span> Family of birds

The Old World babblers or Timaliidae, are a family of mostly Old World passerine birds. They are rather diverse in size and coloration, but are characterised by soft, fluffy plumage. These are birds of tropical areas, with the greatest variety in Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent. The timaliids are one of two unrelated groups of birds known as babblers, the other being the Australasian babblers of the family Pomatostomidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White-eye</span> Family of birds

The white-eyes are a family, Zosteropidae, of small passerine birds native to tropical, subtropical and temperate Sub-Saharan Africa, southern and eastern Asia, and Australasia. White-eyes inhabit most tropical islands in the Indian Ocean, the western Pacific Ocean, and the Gulf of Guinea. Discounting some widespread members of the genus Zosterops, most species are endemic to single islands or archipelagos. The silvereye, Zosterops lateralis, naturally colonised New Zealand, where it is known as the "wax-eye" or tauhou ("stranger"), from 1855. The silvereye has also been introduced to the Society Islands in French Polynesia, while the Japanese white-eye has been introduced to Hawaii.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wrentit</span> Species of bird

The wrentit is a small bird that lives in chaparral, oak woodlands, and bushland on the western coast of North America. It is the only species in the genus Chamaea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ashy-throated parrotbill</span> Species of bird

The ashy-throated parrotbill is a parrotbill. In old sources, it may be called Alphonse's crow-tit; though superficially resembling a tit it is not a member of the Paridae. The native range of this species extends from south-west China to northern Vietnam, and it might have become naturalised in one area in Italy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Passerida</span> Clade of birds

Passerida is, under the Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy, one of two parvorders contained within the suborder Passeri. While more recent research suggests that its sister parvorder, Corvida, is not a monophyletic grouping, the Passerida as a distinct clade are widely accepted.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grey-headed parrotbill</span> Species of bird

The grey-headed parrotbill is a parrotbill in the family Sylviidae and is found in eastern Asia from the Himalayas to Indochina and Hainan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black-throated parrotbill</span> Species of bird

The black-throated parrotbill is a parrotbill species often placed with the Old World babblers or in a distinct family Sylviidae, but it actually seems to belong to the distinct family Paradoxornithidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rufous-headed parrotbill</span> Species of bird

The rufous-headed parrotbill, or greater rufous-headed parrotbill, is a parrotbill in the family Paradoxornithidae and is found in eastern Asia from the eastern Himalayas to Indochina.

<i>Pnoepyga</i> Genus of birds

Pnoepyga is a genus of passerines endemic to southern and southeastern Asia. Its members are known as cupwings or wren-babblers. The genus contains four species. The genus has long been placed in the babbler family Timaliidae. A 2009 study of the DNA of the families Timaliidae and the Old World warblers (Sylviidae) found no support for the placement of the genus in either family, prompting the authors to erect a new monogeneric family, the Pnoepygidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beijing babbler</span> Species of bird

The Beijing babbler, also known as the white-browed Chinese warbler, Chinese hill warbler, or Chinese bush-dweller, is a species of bird in the genus Rhopophilus. It is now thought to be a close relative of the parrotbills and is placed in the family Paradoxornithidae; previously, it was placed in the families Cisticolidae, Timaliidae or Sylviidae. It is found in northern China and North Korea, and formerly occurred in South Korea. The species was first described by Robert Swinhoe in 1868.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sylvioidea</span> Superfamily of birds

Sylvioidea is a superfamily of passerine birds, one of at least three major clades within the Passerida along with the Muscicapoidea and Passeroidea. It contains about 1300 species including the Old World warblers, Old World babblers, swallows, larks and bulbuls. Members of the clade are found worldwide, but fewer species are present in the Americas.

<i>Alcippe</i> (bird) Genus of birds

Alcippe is a genus of passerine birds in the monotypic family Alcippeidae. The genus once included many other fulvettas and was previously placed in families Pellorneidae or Timaliidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White-breasted parrotbill</span> Species of bird

The white-breasted parrotbill is a bird species often placed with the Old World babblers or in a distinct family Paradoxornithidae, but it actually seems to belong to the Sylviidae.

The black-headed parrotbill is a bird species often placed with the Old World babblers or in the Sylviidae, but it actually seems to belong to the distinct family Paradoxornithidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pellorneidae</span> Family of birds

The jungle babblers are a family, Pellorneidae, of mostly Old World passerine birds belonging to the superfamily Sylvioidea. They are quite diverse in size and coloration, and usually characterised by soft, fluffy plumage and a tail on average the length of their body, or longer. These birds are found in tropical zones, with the greatest biodiversity in Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent.

References

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  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Liang, W., Yang, C., Antonov, A., Fossøy, F., Stokke, B., Moksnes, A., et al. (2012). Sex roles in egg recognition and egg polymorphism in avian brood parasitism. Behavioral Ecology, 23(2), 397–402. doi:10.1093/beheco/arr203
  6. 1 2 Yang, C., Li, D., Wang, L., Liang, G., Zhang, Z., & Liang, W. (2014). Geographic variation in parasitism rates of two sympatric cuckoo hosts in china. Zoological Research, 35(1), 67–71.
  7. "the definition of immaculate". Dictionary.com. Archived from the original on 14 November 2017. Retrieved 18 November 2017.