Pied shrike-babbler

The pied shrike-babbler (Pteruthius flaviscapis) is a bird species traditionally considered an aberrant Old World babbler and placed in the family Timaliidae. But as it seems, it belongs to an Asian offshoot of the American vireos and may well belong in the Vireonidae. Indeed, since long it was noted that their habits resemble those of vireos, but this was believed to be the result of convergent evolution.

Pied shrike-babbler
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Vireonidae
Genus:	Pteruthius
Species:	P. flaviscapis
Binomial name
Pteruthius flaviscapis (Temminck, 1836)
Rough distribution of the taxa within the complex

It is endemic to Java. It was formerly considered a subspecies of the white-browed shrike-babbler.

References

• Collar, N. J. & Robson, C. 2007. Family Timaliidae (Babblers) pp. 70 – 291 in; del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A. & Christie, D.A. eds. Handbook of the Birds of the World, Vol. 12. Picathartes to Tits and Chickadees. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.
• Biswas, B. 1960. A new name for the Himalayan Red-winged Babbler, Pteruthius. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club 80: 106. [name for ripleyi]
• Reddy, S. 2008. Systematics and biogeography of the shrike-babblers (Pteruthius): Species limits, molecular phylogenetics, and diversification patterns across southern Asia. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 47: 54–72.
• Rheindt, F.E., and J.A. Eaton. 2009. Species limits in Pteruthius (Aves: Corvida) shrike-babblers: a comparison between the Biological and Phylogenetic Species Concepts. Zootaxa number 2301: 29–54.