:''The agoutis of the genus '' Dasyprocta'' are locally known as "cutias". See also Hutia, where the name for these

rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are na ...

s originated.'' The cutias are the

passerine A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped'), which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines are distinguished from other orders of birds by t ...

bird genus ''Cutia'' in the family Leiothrichidae. These birds are found in

montane forest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...

s of continental

South South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...

and

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...

. The name is derived from the

Nepali Nepali or Nepalese may refer to : Concerning Nepal * Anything of, from, or related to Nepal * Nepali people, citizens of Nepal * Nepali language, an Indo-Aryan language found in Nepal, the current official national language and a language spoken ...

name ''khatya'' or ''khutya'' for the

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...

, the

Himalayan cutia The Himalayan cutia (''Cutia nipalensis'') is a bird species in the family (biology), family Leiothrichidae. Its scientific name ultimately means "the ''khutya'' from Nepal", as ''Cutia'' is derived from the Nepali (language), Nepali name for the ...

(''C. nipalensis'').Pittie (2004) The cutias are related to the alcippes and the

laughingthrush The laughingthrushes are a family, Leiothrichidae, of Old World passerine birds. They are diverse in size and coloration. These are birds of tropical areas, with the greatest variety in Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent. The entire fam ...

es.

Species

For a long time the genus was held to be

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

, containing only a single

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

''C. nipalensis''. This has more recently been split in two:

References

* Collar, N.J. & Robson, Craig (2007): Family Timaliidae (Babblers). ''In:'' del Hoyo, Josep; Elliott, Andrew & Christie, D.A. (eds.): '' Handbook of Birds of the World, Volume 12'' (Picathartes to Tits and Chickadees): 70-291. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. * Pittie, Aasheesh (2004): A dictionary of scientific bird names originating from the Indian region. ''Buceros: ENVIS Newsletter Avian Ecology & Inland Wetlands'' 9(2): 1-30
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{{Taxonbar, from=Q2102604 Bird genera Leiothrichidae Taxonomy articles created by Polbot