Ailuroedus is a genus of birds in the bowerbird family, Ptilonorhynchidae, native to forests in Australia and New Guinea. The common name, catbird, refers to these species' "wailing cat-like calls".[1] The scientific name Ailuroedus is derived from the Greek 'ailouros', meaning cat, and 'eidos', referring to form (or perhaps from oaidos, singer).[2][3]
Catbirds are characterize by ivory-colored bill with the hooked maxilla, large head, green dorsal plumage, ventral spotting, powerful grasping claws and fig-eating habit.[4]
In contrast to the other genera within the Ptilonorhynchidae family, all of the Ailuroedus catbirds lack marked sexual dimorphism, are pair bonded, monogamous breeders, with both parents caring for the offspring.[1][3] They form pair bonds in which the male helps to build the nest, and have simple arboreal chasing displays, without bowers or stages.[3]
Traditionally, the Ailuroedus catbirds were classified as three species. However, a phylogenetic and morphological paper by Irestedt et al. [5](2015). revealed seven new species, leading to a total of ten distinct species.[5] In the same study, the results confirm that the catbirds are divided into two major clades, a lowland group consisting of the New Guinean white-eared catbird, and a mid-mountain clade including the black-eared catbird and the Australian green catbird.[5]
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{{cite book}}: |last= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) Ailuroedus is a genus of birds in the bowerbird family, Ptilonorhynchidae, native to forests in Australia and New Guinea. The common name, catbird, refers to these species' "wailing cat-like calls". The scientific name Ailuroedus is derived from the Greek 'ailouros', meaning cat, and 'eidos', referring to form (or perhaps from oaidos, singer).
