Taxa
Pachycephalidae
Family
Citation Formats
General Reference
APA Style
BibTeX
Pachycephalidae is a family of birds, including the whistlers, shrikethrushes and three of the pitohuis, comprising 69 species in five genera, of which Pachycephala, the typical whistlers, holds 51 species. The name comes from Ancient Greek words meaning thick and head, reflecting the birds stout build and strong bills, which led to the older common name thickheads. The family ranges from small to medium in size and occupies most of Australasia, with Australia and New Guinea as its center of diversity and whistlers extending to South Pacific islands such as Tonga and Samoa and to parts of Asia as far as India. They are songbirds capable of an astonishing volume of song for their size, and some pitohui species carry toxins in their feathers that deter parasites and predators.
Sources
Pachycephalidae (Wikipedia)
IntroductionQuote, Introduction
The Pachycephalidae (from Ancient Greek παχύς (pakhús), meaning "thick", and κεφαλή (kephalḗ), meaning "head") 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.
Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.
View At A Past Year
The atlas records no dated fact of its own for this entry, so there is no other year to choose.