''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.
This genus of diminutive passerines has a mostly montane distribution in South and Southeast Asia. The
scaly-breasted cupwing is found in the mountainous areas of north India eastwards to southern China and northern Vietnam. The
Taiwan cupwing is
endemic to
Taiwan, and similarly the
Nepal cupwing has a restricted distribution, mostly occurring in Nepal (and also slightly into India). The most widespread species is the
pygmy cupwing, which occurs from China and India south through Southeast Asia into the
Malay Peninsula
The Malay Peninsula (Malay: ''Semenanjung Tanah Melayu'') is a peninsula in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The area ...
and
Indonesia as far as
Flores
Flores is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands, a group of islands in the eastern half of Indonesia. Including the Komodo Islands off its west coast (but excluding the Solor Archipelago to the east of Flores), the land area is 15,530.58 km2, and th ...
and
Timor.
[Collar, N. J. & Robson, C. 2007. Family Timaliidae (Babblers) pp. 70 - 291 in; del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A. & Christie, D.A. eds. '']Handbook of the Birds of the World
The ''Handbook of the Birds of the World'' (HBW) is a multi-volume series produced by the Spanish publishing house Lynx Edicions in partnership with BirdLife International. It is the first handbook to cover every known living species of bird. T ...
'', Vol. 12. Picathartes to Tits and Chickadees. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.
Species
The genus contains the following four species:
References
Bird genera
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot
{{Timaliidae-stub