''Pachycephala'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

s 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 Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...

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.

Taxonomy and systematics

Extant species

There are forty-eight

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 ...

of whistlers: *

Olive whistler The olive whistler (''Pachycephala olivacea'') or olivaceous whistler, is a species of bird in the family Pachycephalidae, the whistlers, that is native to southeastern Australia. Taxonomy and systematics Subspecies Five subspecies are recog ...

(''Pachycephala olivacea'') * Red-lored whistler (''Pachycephala rufogularis'') *

Gilbert's whistler The Gilbert's whistler (''Pachycephala inornata'') is a monotypic species of bird endemic to Australia, scattered in semi-arid zones of southern Australia. Taxonomy The family Pachycephalidae originated within the Australo-Papuan region. Toget ...

(''Pachycephala inornata'') * Mangrove whistler (''Pachycephala cinerea'') * Biak whistler (''Pachycephala melanorhyncha'') * Green-backed whistler (''Pachycephala albiventris'') * White-vented whistler (''Pachycephala homeyeri'') * Island whistler (''Pachycephala phaionota'') * Rusty whistler (''Pachycephala hyperythra'') * Brown-backed whistler (''Pachycephala modesta'') * Yellow-bellied whistler (''Pachycephala philippinensis'') * Sulphur-vented whistler (''Pachycephala sulfuriventer'') * Bornean whistler (''Pachycephala hypoxantha'') * Vogelkop whistler (''Pachycephala meyeri'') * Grey whistler (''Pachycephala simplex'') * Fawn-breasted whistler (''Pachycephala orpheus'') * Sclater's whistler (''Pachycephala soror'') *

Rusty-breasted whistler The rusty-breasted whistler (''Pachycephala fulvotincta''), also known as the fulvous-tinted whistler, is a species of bird in the family Pachycephalidae. It is endemic to Indonesia, where it ranges from Java east to Alor and north to the Selay ...

(''Pachycephala fulvotincta'') *

Yellow-throated whistler The yellow-throated whistler (''Pachycephala macrorhyncha'') or Banda Sea whistler, is a species of bird in the family Pachycephalidae. It is endemic to central and south-eastern Wallacea, where it ranges from Timor east to the Tanimbars and nor ...

(''Pachycephala macrorhyncha'') *

Baliem whistler The Baliem whistler or Balim whistler (''Pachycephala balim'') is a species of bird of the whistler family Pachycephalidae that is endemic to New Guinea. Taxonomy and systematics The Baliem whistler was formerly considered as a subspecies of the ...

(''Pachycephala balim'') *

Black-chinned whistler The black-chinned whistler (''Pachycephala mentalis'') is a species of bird in the family Pachycephalidae, endemic to Halmahera and adjacent smaller islands in North Maluku in Indonesia. Taxonomy and systematics It is variably considered a subsp ...

(''Pachycephala mentalis'') *

Australian golden whistler The Australian golden whistler (''Pachycephala pectoralis'') or golden whistler, is a species of bird found in forest, woodland, mallee, mangrove and scrub in Australia (except the interior and most of the north)Ken Simpson, K., & N. Day. (1994) ...

(''Pachycephala pectoralis'') * Western whistler (''Pachycephala fuliginosa'') * Bismarck whistler (''Pachycephala citreogaster'') *

Oriole whistler The oriole whistler (''Pachycephala orioloides''), also known as the yellow-throated whistler (leading to easy confusion with '' Pachycephala macrorhyncha''), is a species of bird in the family Pachycephalidae, which is endemic to the Solomon Isl ...

(''Pachycephala orioloides'') * Louisiade whistler (''Pachycephala collaris'') * Rennell whistler (''Pachycephala feminina'') * Melanesian whistler (''Pachycephala chlorura'') * New Caledonian whistler (''Pachycephala caledonica'') *

Fiji whistler The Fiji whistler (''Pachycephala vitiensis'') is a species of bird in the family Pachycephalidae, Endemism, endemic to Fiji. Taxonomy and systematics It was variably considered a subspecies of a widespread golden whistler (''Australian golden w ...

(''Pachycephala vitiensis'') *

Temotu whistler The Temotu whistler (''Pachycephala vanikorensis'') is a species of bird in the family Pachycephalidae, which is endemic to the Santa Cruz Islands of the Solomon Islands group. It was classified as a separate species in 2016 by the IOC. Two of it ...

(''Pachycephala vanikorensis'') * Tongan whistler (''Pachycephala jacquinoti'') * Mangrove golden whistler (''Pachycephala melanura'') * Samoan whistler (''Pachycephala flavifrons'') * Hooded whistler (''Pachycephala implicata'') * Bougainville whistler (''Pachycephala richardsi'') * Bare-throated whistler (''Pachycephala nudigula'') * Lorentz's whistler (''Pachycephala lorentzi'') * Regent whistler (''Pachycephala schlegelii'') *

Golden-backed whistler The golden-backed whistler (''Pachycephala aurea'') or yellow-backed whistler, is a species of bird in the family Pachycephalidae. It is found throughout New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is ...

(''Pachycephala aurea'') *

Rufous whistler The rufous whistler (''Pachycephala rufiventris'') is a species of whistler found in New Caledonia and Australia. Predominantly a reddish-brown and grey bird, it makes up for its subdued plumage with its song-making ability. Like many other memb ...

(''Pachycephala rufiventris'') * Black-headed whistler (''Pachycephala monacha'') * White-bellied whistler (''Pachycephala leucogastra'') * Wallacean whistler (''Pachycephala arctitorquis'') *

Drab whistler The drab whistler (''Pachycephala griseonota'') is a species of bird in the family Pachycephalidae. It is found in the Maluku Islands. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. Taxonomy and systematics Some authoritie ...

(''Pachycephala griseonota'') *

Cinnamon-breasted whistler The cinnamon-breasted whistler (''Pachycephala johni'') is a species of bird in the family Pachycephalidae. It is endemic to Obira in the Maluku Islands. Formerly, some authorities considered it to be a subspecies of the rufous whistler, whil ...

(''Pachycephala johni'') * White-breasted whistler (''Pachycephala lanioides'') *

Morningbird The morningbird (''Pachycephala tenebrosa'') is a songbird species in the family Pachycephalidae. Taxonomy and systematics The morningbird was previously placed in the genus ''Colluricincla'' until 2013, when it was transferred to ''Pachycephala ...

(''Pachycephala tenebrosa'')

Former species

Formerly, some authorities also considered the following species (or subspecies) as species within the genus ''Pachycephala'': * Maroon-backed whistler (as ''Pachycephala raveni'') * Little shrikethrush (fortis) (as ''Pachycephala fortis'') An unidentified ''Pachycephala'' whistler was heard on May 14, 1994 at 1,000 meters

ASL American Sign Language (ASL) is a natural language that serves as the predominant sign language of Deaf communities in the United States of America and most of Anglophone Canada. ASL is a complete and organized visual language that is express ...

south of the summit of

Camiguin Camiguin, officially the Province of Camiguin ( ceb, Probinsya sa Camiguin; tl, Lalawigan ng Camiguin; Kamigin: ''Probinsya ta Kamigin''), is an island province in the Philippines located in the Bohol Sea, about off the northern coast of Min ...

in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, where the genus was not previously known to occur. It might have been an undescribed

taxon In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular nam ...

, or simply a vagrant of a known species.Balete, Danilo S.; Tabaranza, Blas R. Jr. & Heaney, Lawrence R. (2006
An Annotated Checklist of the Birds of Camiguin Island, Philippines
'' Fieldiana Zool. New Series'' 106: 58–72.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2303843 Bird genera