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.
The vireos make up a family, Vireonidae, of small to medium-sized passerine birds found in the New World and Southeast Asia. "Vireo" is a Latin word referring to a green migratory bird, perhaps the female golden oriole, possibly the European greenfinch.
The family Vangidae comprises a group of often shrike-like medium-sized birds distributed from Asia to Africa, including the vangas of Madagascar to which the family owes its name. Many species in this family were previously classified elsewhere in other families. Recent molecular techniques made it possible to assign these species to Vangidae, thereby solving several taxonomic enigmas. The family contains 40 species divided into 21 genera.
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.
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.
The pin-striped tit-babbler, also known as the yellow-breasted babbler, is a species of bird in the Old World babbler family Timaliidae that is found in South and Southeast Asia.
The malia is a medium-sized babbler-like passerine. It has an olive-green plumage, yellowish head and chest, and pinkish-brown bill. The young is duller than the adult. It is the only member of the genus Malia.
The shrike-babblers are a group of small birds in the genus Pteruthius. They are native to the Indomalayan realm, and were traditionally placed in the family Timaliidae before molecular phylogenetic studies in 2007 found that they were best considered as belonging to the family Vireonidae which was then thought to be restricted to the New World. They were traditionally classified into five species with several subspecies but changes in the status of these species on the basis of the phylogenetic species concept suggest more forms in a cryptic species complex. Most species are found in montane forests, with some species descending down to lower altitudes during the winter.
The black-eared shrike-babbler is a bird species in the vireo family, Vireonidae. It was traditionally considered as an aberrant Old World babbler and formerly placed in the family Timaliidae. It was long noted that their habits resembled those of vireos, but this was previously ascribed to the result of convergent evolution. It is found in Southeast Asia from the Himalayas to western Malaysia. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.
The black-headed shrike-babbler is a bird species traditionally placed with the Old World babblers in the family Timaliidae. However, it might be one of the few Eurasian vireos (Vireonidae).
The green shrike-babbler is a bird species that was earlier placed in the family Timaliidae. The species is now considered to be an Asian offshoot of the American vireos and belongs in the family Vireonidae.
The Sikkim wedge-billed babbler or blackish-breasted babbler is a species of bird in the Old World babbler family (Timaliidae). It is named for the Indian state of Sikkim.
The Bagobo babbler or Bagobo robin is a monotypic species of bird with its taxonomy undergoing numerous changes and is currently classified as Muscicapidae or an old world flycatcher. It is endemic to the Philippines only found in Mindanao.
The white-bellied erpornis or simply erpornis is a species of bird. It is the only member of the genus Erpornis. This bird is found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.
The clicking shrike-babbler is a species of bird in the family Vireonidae. It is found from Assam, India, eastern Myanmar to southern China, and southern Vietnam. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. It used to be considered a subspecies of the chestnut-fronted shrike-babbler.
The trilling shrike-babbler is a species of bird in the family Vireonidae. It is endemic to the island of Java. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. It used to be considered the nominate subspecies of the chestnut-fronted shrike-babbler.
The Himalayan shrike-babbler is a bird subspecies found in the western Himalayas that belongs to the shrike-babbler group. The genus was once considered to be an aberrant Old World babbler and placed in the family Timaliidae until molecular phylogenetic studies showed them to be closely related to the vireos of the New World, leading to their addition in the family Vireonidae. Males and females have distinctive plumages, with the males being all black about with a cinnamon-rufous tertial patch and a distinctive white stripe running from behind the eye. The underside is whitish with some pinkish buff on the flanks. Females have a greyish head, lack the white stripe and have the upperparts and wings with greens, yellow and chestnut. The subspecies is part of a cryptic species complex that was earlier considered as one species, white-browed shrike-babbler with several subspecies.
The white-browed shrike-babbler is a bird species found in the eastern Himalayas and Southeast Asia from northern Burma to southern Cambodia. Like others in the genus it is found in montane forests. Males and females have different plumages and variations occur through its range with several populations being treated as subspecies. It is part of a cryptic species complex and was earlier lumped as a subspecies of the white-browed shrike-babbler. Clements lumps this bird into the white-browed shrike-babbler.
The Dalat shrike-babbler is a bird subspecies traditionally considered an aberrant Old World babbler and placed in the family Timaliidae. But as it seems, it belongs to an Asian offshoot of the American vireos and may well belong in the Vireonidae. Indeed, since long it was noted that their habits resemble those of vireos, but this was believed to be the result of convergent evolution.
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.
