FORKTAIL 25 (2009): 137–141 The generic taxonomy of parrotbills (Aves, Timaliidae) JOHN PENHALLURICK and CRAIG ROBSON The parrotbills are typically considered to contain just three genera: Conostoma, Paradoxornis and Panurus. Discounting Panurus from consideration (it has recently been shown to have a distant relationship to the babblers), we maintain a single species in Conostoma, C. aemodium, and assign the species currently lumped into Paradoxornis among seven genera that fall into two groups based in part on size: the first group (which also includes Conostoma) consists of Hemirhynchus (for paradoxus and unicolor); Psittiparus (for gularis, margaritae, ruficeps and bakeri) and Paradoxornis (for flavirostris, guttaticollis and heudei); the second comprises Chleuasicus (for atrosuperciliaris), a new genus Sinosuthora (for brunnea, webbiana, alphonsiana, conspicillata, zappeyi and przewalskii), Neosuthora (for davidiana) and Suthora (for fulvifrons, verreauxi, nipalensis, humii, poliotis, ripponi and beaulieui). INTRODUCTION to reflect this distant relationship. We will go through the genera we propose, giving the full citation for the generic Earlier accounts of the parrotbills, such as Sharpe (1883), name, plus synonyms, and listing the species we assign to Hartert (1907), Hartert and Steinbacher (1932–38), and each genus, and its subspecies, with detailed distribution Baker (1930), treated them in multiple genera, but in provided for both monotypic species and subspecies. recent works (Deignan 1964, Dickinson 2003, Robson 2007) the great majority have been placed in Paradoxornis. This arrangement goes back to Delacour (1946), who THE GENERA AND SPECIES assigned all taxa except Great Parrotbill Conostoma aemodium and Bearded Reedling Panurus biarmicus to Conostoma Hodgson, 1842 Paradoxornis. His explanation for this radical move was Conostoma Hodgson, 1842 [‘1841’], Journal of the Asiatic brief, and roughly translates as follows: Society of Bengal 10: 856. Type, by monotypy, Conostoma The vast genus Paradoxornis (Suthora, Psittiparus, aemodius Hodgson, 1842. Synonyms: Enendrozdvoma Neosuthora and Cholornis are synonyms) includes very Kashin, 1978. variable height and form of which the beak varies a • Conostoma aemodium Hodgson, 1842 Great great deal in height and power. The case of P. paradoxus Parrotbill. India (Himalayas from Uttarkhand to of Gansu is extraordinary; this bird is almost identical Arunachal Pradesh); Nepal; Bhutan; south Tibet; to P. unicolor of the Himalayas and of Yunnan, but it north Myanmar; China (south Gansu, south Shaanxi, lacks one toe on its claw; these are assuredly very close Sichuan, north-west Yunnan). forms, almost conspecific. The small species such as The sole member of the genus Conostoma is much larger P. fulvifrons, P. nipalensis, P. verreauxi resemble the than the other parrotbills (27.5–28.5 cm; 88–110 g), and tits with long tails (Aegithalos) and probably constitute has a less graduated tail. The outermost pair of retrices is a transition between the tits and the babblers. about three-quarters of the total length of the tail. The bill It is remarkable that so drastic a revision should have is longer than it is high, and is proportionately much longer been accepted with so little justification. Deignan (1964) than those of other parrotbills. Both males and females are followed suit without any discussion. However, just as grey-brown, with a whitish forehead. This assignment is the lumping of almost all laughingthrushes into the genus consistent with the treatments of Sharpe (1883), Hartert Garrulax has recently been seen as excessive (Rasmussen (1907, 1932–38) and Deignan (1964). & Anderton 2005, Collar & Robson 2007), so the lumping of almost all parrotbills into Paradoxornis also seems now Hemirhynchus Hodgson, 1843 to be in need of reconsideration. Hemirhynchus Hodgson, 1843, Journal of the Asiatic Society Yeung et al. (2006), basing their molecular analysis on of Bengal 12: 1007. New name for Heteromorpha Hodgson, a combination of mitochondrial genes cytochrome-b and 1843, hence the type is Heteromorpha unicolor Hodgson, ND2 for a total of 2,184 base pairs, showed that the genus 1843. Synonyms: Heteromorpha Hodgson, 1843, not Paradoxornis (as most recently recognised) is paraphyletic. Heteromorpha Heubner, 1822 (Lepidoptera); Cholornis J. In particular, Conostoma is embedded in the middle of the Verreaux, 1870. genusParadoxornis. Their analysis clearly supports a return • Hemirhynchus paradoxus (J. Verreaux, 1870) Three- to a polygeneric arrangement of the parrotbills. Here we toed Parrotbill. use evidence from morphology, calls and songs to reinforce H. p. paradoxus. China (south Gansu, south-east the view that a return to something like the earlier multiple- Shaanxi [Daba Shan], west-central, north and genera treatments of parrotbills is desirable. We also discuss north-east Sichuan. some generic names proposed recently which are invalid, H. p. taipaiensis (Cheng, Lo and Chao, 1973). with notes on recent splits and possible further splits. China (south Shaanxi [Qinling Shan]). However, we exclude the genus Panurus. Molecular • Hemirhynchus unicolor (Hodgson, 1843) Brown evidence demonstrates that Panurus biarmicus has a more Parrotbill. West-central to east Nepal; India(Himalayas distant relationship to other parrotbills than was previously of West Bengal, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh); thought, and appears to have a closer relationship to non- Bhutan; south-east Tibet; north Myanmar; China (west- babbler species (Ericson and Johansson 2003, Alström et central to south-west Sichuan, north-western Yunnan). al. 2006, Jønsson and Fjeldså 2006). Consequently its These two very similar species range in length from common name should revert to Bearded Reedling, in order 20–21 cm and weigh 31.5–39 g. They are similar in size 138 JOHN PENHALLURICK and CRAIG ROBSON Forktail 25 (2009) to the species discussed in relation to Paradoxornis sensu group, the tail is almost equal in length to the wing, and stricto below, but their overall plumage more closely shows little graduation, with the outermost feathers about resembles that of Great Parrotbill. Their voices also differ five-sixths the length of the central feathers. They have from those of species placed in Paradoxornis sensu stricto, relatively well-structured songs, with those of White- and their songs resemble those of the Great Parrotbill, breasted and Greater Rufous-headed Parrotbills being consisting of rather loud, clear, relatively phrased songs, particularly varied, jolly and emphasised. All species give comprising usually up to four notes; in contrast, their call distinctive joiw and jieu call notes, those of White-breasted notes differ from those of Great, consisting of guttural and Greater Rufous-headed being louder and more clearly calls, short shrill whining sounds and harsh crackling notes. audible. In addition, when alarmed, Grey-headed The species paradoxus was assigned to Cholornis in Sharpe Parrotbill utters harsh scolding rattles like those of a (1883) and Hartert (1907, 1932–1938)—evidently in scimitar-babbler Pomatorhinus, and White-breasted and ignorance of the priority of Hemirhynchus—while both Greater Rufous-headed Parrotbills, in a similar context, authors plus Baker (1930) assigned unicolor to Suthora. emit a highly distinctive loud, metallic, spluttering rattle. Yeung et al. (2006) used the generic name Heteromorpha Collar (2006) provided evidence that the isolated form for this group in a figure in their presentation labelled margaritae of south Indochina should be split from P. ‘Congruence between molecular phylogeny and Robson’s gularis, and this treatment was followed by Robson (2007). taxonomy’. However, as noted above, this name is King and Robson (2008) provided reasons for splitting P. preoccupied. bakeri from P. ruficeps. Sharpe (1883) assigned both ruficeps and gularis to Suthora; Hartert (1907) and Baker (1930) Psittiparus Hellmayr, 1903 assigned both to Psittiparus. Psittiparus Hellmayr, 1903, Das Tierreich Lief. 18: 163. New name for Scaeorhynchus Oates, 1889. Hence type is Paradoxornis Gould, 1836 Paradoxornis ruficeps Blyth, 1842. Synonyms: Paradoxornis Gould, 1836, Proceedings of the Zoological Scaeorhynchus [as Scæorhynchus] Oates, 1889, not Society of London, Pt. 4, no. xxxviii (May): 17. Type, by Scaeorhynchus E. E. Wilson, 1881 (Pantopoda). monotypy, Paradoxornis flavirostris Gould, 1836. • Psittiparus gularis (G. R. Gray, 1845) Grey-headed Synonyms: Bathyrhynchus McClelland, 1837; Anacrites Parrotbill. Gistel, 1848; Calamornis Gould, 1874. P. g. gularis. India (Sikkim, north West Bengal, • Paradoxornis flavirostris Gould, 1836 Black-breasted west Arunachal Pradesh); Bhutan. Parrotbill. India (Brahmaputra R floodplains in West P. g. transfluvialis (E. Hartert, 1900). India (central Bengal, north-east Assam, and immediately adjacent and east Arunachal Pradesh [east from Dafla Hills], areas of Arunachal Pradesh; formerly south Assam); south Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram); west formerly north-east Bangladesh. [north Chin Hills], north, east and south-east • Paradoxornis guttaticollis David, 1871 Spot-breasted Myanmar; north-west Thailand; China (west and Parrotbill. India (extreme east Arunachal Pradesh, north-west Yunnan). south Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, P. g. rasus Stresemann, 1940. West Myanmar (south Mizoram); east Bangladesh; west, north, east and Chin Hills, incl. Mt Victoria). south-east Myanmar; north-west Thailand, north P. g. laotianus Delacour, 1926. Extreme