The shrikebills are the monarch flycatcher genus ''Clytorhynchus''. The five species have long laterally compressed bills similar to true

shrike Shrikes () are passerine birds of the family Laniidae. The family is composed of 34 species in four genera. The family name, and that of the largest genus, ''Lanius'', is derived from the Latin word for "butcher", and some shrikes are also know ...

s that give them their names. The genus is endemic to the islands of Melanesia and western Polynesia. The shrikebills are insectivorous, and use their large heavy bills to explore tangles of dead leaves and dead wood; an unusual foraging strategy for their family. Their diet may also include small fruits and lizards.

Taxonomy and systematics

Extant species

The genus ''Clytorhynchus'' contains the following species: * Southern shrikebill (''Clytorhynchus pachycephaloides'') * Fiji shrikebill (''Clytorhynchus vitiensis'') * Black-throated shrikebill (''Clytorhynchus nigrogularis'') * Santa Cruz shrikebill (''Clytorhynchus sanctaecrucis'') * Rennell shrikebill (''Clytorhynchus hamlini'')

Former species

Formerly, some authorities also considered the following species (or subspecies) as species within the genus ''Clytorhynchus'': * Sangihe whistler (as ''Pinarolestes sanghirensis'') * Little shrikethrush (as ''Pinarolestes megarhynchos'' or ''Pinarolestes megarhynchus'')

References

Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Monarchidae-stub