The sooty shrikethrush (''Colluricincla tenebrosa'') is a species of

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 ...

in the family

Pachycephalidae The Pachycephalidae are a family of bird species that includes the whistlers, shrikethrushes, and three of the pitohuis, and is part of the ancient Australo-Papuan radiation of songbirds. The family includes 64 species that are separated into f ...

. It is found in the

New Guinea Highlands The New Guinea Highlands, also known as the Central Range or Central Cordillera, is a long chain of mountain ranges on the island of New Guinea, including the island's tallest peak, Puncak Jaya , the highest mountain in Oceania. The range is home ...

. Its natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

is subtropical or tropical moist

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 ...

Taxonomy and systematics

The sooty shrikethrush was formerly known as ''Colluricincla umbrina'' (Reichenow, 1915), as the name ''Rectes tenebrosus'' Hartlaub & Finsch, 1868 (the

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 ...

) has priority over ''Pachycephala tenebrosa'' Rothschild, 1911 (the sooty shrikethrush) when the two species are placed in the same genus; with the transfer of the morningbird from the genus ''Colluricincla'' to ''

Pachycephala ''Pachycephala'' is a genus of birds 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 Ancien ...

'' in 2013, the sooty shrikethrush reverted from ''umbrina'' to the older name ''tenebrosa''. Alternate names for the sooty shrikethrush include the obscure shrike-thrush, sooty robin-whistler and sooty whistler.

Subspecies

Two subspecies are recognized: * ''C. t. atra'' - (

Rothschild Rothschild () is a name derived from the German ''zum rothen Schild'' (with the old spelling "th"), meaning "with the red sign", in reference to the houses where these family members lived or had lived. At the time, houses were designated by signs ...

, 1931): Found on northern slopes of central

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

mountains * ''C. t. tenebrosa'' - (Rothschild, 1911): Found on southern slopes of central New Guinea mountains

References

sooty shrikethrush The sooty shrikethrush (''Colluricincla tenebrosa'') is a species of bird in the family Pachycephalidae. It is found in the New Guinea Highlands. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. Taxonomy and systematics The ...

Birds of New Guinea

Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Corvoidea-stub