| Campephaga | |
|---|---|
 Red-shouldered Cuckooshrike (Campephaga phoenicea) | |
| Scientific Classification | |
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Class | Aves |
| Order | Passeriformes Passeri |
| Family | Campephagidae |
Campephagidae or cuckooshrikes, is a family of small to medium-sized passerines found in the subtropical and tropical Africa, Asia and Australasia. The roughly 86 species are found in eight (or nine) genera which comprise five distinct groups, the 'true' cuckooshrike, the trillers, the minivets and the flycatcher-shrikes comprise a total of 316 taxa. The woodshrikes were often considered to be in this family but are probably better placed in their own family, Tephrodornithidae, along with the philentomas and the flycatcher-shrikes. Another genus, Chlamydochaera, which has one species, the black-breasted fruithunter was often placed in this family but has now been shown to be a thrush (Turdidae).
Taxonomy[]
Cuckooshrikes are not closely related to either the cuckoos or to the shrikes; the name probably comes from the grey color of many of the cuckooshrikes. Some of the species also bear a superficial resemblance to cuckoos, and have a similar undulating flight. The grey colouration has led to one of their other names, the greybird. In some parts of the world they have also been known as caterpillar-birds, a name derived from their diet. Although unsuspected earlier, DNA studies have suggested they may be related to the Old World orioles (Oriolidae), although they differ strongly in some morphological characteristics (such as skull morphology and the arrangements of feathers on the wing).
Description[]
Overall the cuckooshrikes are medium to small arboreal birds, generally long and slender. The smallest species is the small minivet at 16 cm (6.3 in) and 6–12 g (0.21–0.42 oz), while the largest is the south Melanesian cuckooshrike at 35 cm (14 in) and 180 grams (0.40 pounds). They are predominantly greyish with white and black, although the minivets are brightly coloured in red, yellow and black, and the blue cuckooshrike of central Africa is all-over glossy blue. The four cuckooshrikes in the genus Campephaga exhibit sexual dimorphism, with males that have glossy black plumage and bright red or yellow wattles, the females having more subdued olive-green plumage. The genus Coracina is not monophyletic.
Habitat[]
Of the 84 species of cuckooshrike, the majority are forest birds. Some species are restricted to primary forest, like the New Caledonian cuckooshrike, others are able to use more disturbed forest. Around eleven species use much more open habitat, one Australian species, the ground cuckooshrike being found in open plains and scrubland with few trees.
Behavior[]
The 'true' cuckooshrikes are usually found singly, in pairs, and in small family groups, whereas the minivets, flycatcher-shrikes and wood-shrikes more frequently form small flocks. There is a considerable amount of variation within the family as a whole with regards to calls, some call very infrequently and some, principally the minivets, are extremely vocal.
These are mainly insectivorous, and will take large hairy caterpillars. They have also been recorded eating small vertebrates, and some fruit, seeds and other plant matter.
Information about the breeding of this family is incomplete, with many species having never been studied. In all the species studied the cuckooshrikes are territorial; in species that do not migrate these territories are maintained year round. Cuckooshrikes are monogamous, with the pair bonds apparently lasting throughout the year. Only one instance of non-monogamous breeding has been recorded, an instance of polygyny in white-winged trillers in Australia, where one male aided two females in raising their young. Several species of cuckooshrike exhibit cooperative breeding. About four blotchy white, green or blue eggs are laid in a cup nest in a tree. Incubation is about two weeks.
Species[]
Genus: Coracina Pygmy Cuckooshrike (Riley, 1918) (Coracina abbotti) New Caledonian Cuckooshrike (Verreaux & Des Murs, 1860) (Coracina analis) Moluccan Cuckooshrike (Müller, 1843) (Coracina atriceps) Blue Cuckooshrike (Cassin, 1852) (Coracina azurea) Pied Cuckooshrike (Temminck, 1824) (Coracina bicolor) Boyer's Cuckooshrike (Gray, 1846) (Coracina boyeri) Stout-billed Cuckooshrike (Gray, 1858) (Coracina caeruleogrisea) Grey Cuckooshrike (Lichtenstein, 1823) (Coracina caesia) South Melanesian Cuckooshrike (Gmelin, 1788) (Coracina caledonica) Pale Cicadabird (Bonaparte, 1850) (Coracina ceramensis) Madagascan Cuckooshrike (Müller, 1776) (Coracina cinerea) Comoros cuckooshrike (Coracina (cinerea) cucullata) Blackish Cuckooshrike (Blyth, 1842) (Coracina coerulescens) Kai Cicadabird (Salvadori, 1878) (Coracina dispar) Andaman Cuckooshrike (Ball, 1872) (Coracina dobsoni) Pale-shouldered Cicadabird (Hartert, 1896) (Coracina dohertyi) Lesser Cuckooshrike (Temminck, 1824) (Coracina fimbriata) Buru Cuckooshrike (Salvadori, 1878) (Coracina fortis) Grauer's Cuckooshrike (Neumann, 1908) (Coracina graueri) Solomons Cuckooshrike (Sharpe, 1888) (Coracina holopolia) Black-shouldered Cicadabird (Meyer, 1874) (Coracina incerta) Manus Cuckooshrike (Rothschild and Hartert, 1914) (Coracina ingens) Javan Cuckooshrike (Horsfield, 1821) (Coracina javensis) Sunda Cuckooshrike (Müller, 1843) (Coracina larvata) White-rumped Cuckooshrike (Bonaparte, 1850) (Coracina leucopygia) Barred Cuckooshrike (Swainson, 1825) (Coracina lineata) Hooded Cuckooshrike (De Vis, 1890) (Coracina longicauda) Ground Cuckooshrike (Rüppell, 1839) (Coracina maxima) McGregor's Cuckooshrike (Mearns, 1907) (Coracina mcgregori) Large Cuckooshrike (Lesson, 1830) (Coracina macei) Black-headed Cuckooshrike (Rüppell, 1839) (Coracina melanoptera) Black-winged Cuckooshrike (Hodgson, 1836) (Coracina melaschistos) Black Cicadabird (Lesson, 1828) (Coracina melas) Black-bibbed Cicadabird (Tweeddale, 1878) (Coracina mindanensis) Black-bellied Cuckooshrike (Meyer, 1874) (Coracina montana) Sulawesi Cicadabird (Rüppell, 1843) (Coracina morio) Yap Cicadabird (Hartlaub & Finsch, 1872) (Coracina nesiotis) Réunion Cuckooshrike (Pollen, 1866) (Coracina newtoni) Black-faced Cuckooshrike (Gmelin, 1789) (Coracina novaehollandiae) White-winged Cuckooshrike (Ripley, 1952) (Coracina ostenta) White-bellied Cuckooshrike (Gmelin, 1788) (Coracina papuensis) Halmahera Cuckooshrike (Salvadori, 1878) (Coracina parvula) White-breasted Cuckooshrike (Jardine & Selby, 1828) (Coracina pectoralis) Wallacean Cuckooshrike (Müller, 1843) (Coracina personata) Indochinese Cuckooshrike (Sharpe, 1879) (Coracina polioptera) Slaty Cuckooshrike (Sharpe, 1879) (Coracina schistacea) Grey-headed Cuckooshrike (Gray, 1846) (Coracina schisticeps) Bar-bellied Cuckooshrike (Boddaert, 1783) (Coracina striata) Sula Cicadabird (Hartert, 1917) (Coracina sula) Cerulean Cuckooshrike (Müller, 1843) (Coracina temminckii) Common Cicadabird (Jardine,1831) (Coracina tenuirostris) Mauritius Cuckooshrike (Hartlaub, 1865) (Coracina typica) North Melanesian Cuckooshrike (Tristram, 1892) (Coracina welchmani) Genus: Campochaera Golden Cuckooshrike (Schlegel, 1866) (Campochaera sloetii) Genus: Lalage (trillers) Black-browed Triller (Gray, 1862) (Lalage atrovirens) Rufous-bellied Triller (Temminck, 1827) (Lalage aurea) Long-tailed Triller (Gould, 1838) (Lalage leucopyga) †Norfolk Triller (Gould, 1838) (Lalage leucopyga leucopyga) White-rumped Triller (Walden, 1872) (Lalage leucopygialis) Polynesian Triller (Peale, 1848) (Lalage maculosa) Black-and-white Triller (Blyth, 1861) (Lalage melanoleuca) White-browed Triller (Sclater, 1883) (Lalage moesta) Pied Triller (Forster, 1781) (Lalage nigra) Samoan Triller (Rothschild, 1900) (Lalage sharpei) White-shouldered Triller (Vieillot, 1818) (Lalage sueurii) White-winged Triller (Swainson, 1825) (Lalage tricolor) Genus: Campephaga Black Cuckooshrike (Vieillot, 1817) (Campephaga flava) Petit's Cuckooshrike (Oustalet, 1884) (Campephaga petiti) Red-shouldered Cuckooshrike (Latham, 1790) (Campephaga phoenicea) Purple-throated Cuckooshrike (Finsch, 1869) (Campephaga quiscalina) Genus: Lobotos Western Wattled Cuckooshrike (Temminck, 1824) (Lobotos lobatus) Eastern Wattled Cuckooshrike (Bates, 1909) (Lobotos oriolinus) Genus: Pericrocotus (Minivets) Short-billed Minivet (Vigors, 1831) (Pericrocotus brevirostris) Swinhoe's Minivet (Swinhoe, 1861) (Pericrocotus cantonensis) Small Minivet (Linnaeus, 1766) (Pericrocotus cinnamomeus) Ashy Minivet (Raffles, 1822) (Pericrocotus divaricatus) White-bellied Minivet (Jerdon, 1840) (Pericrocotus erythropygius) Long-tailed Minivet (Bangs & Phillips, 1914) (Pericrocotus ethologus) Orange Minivet (JR Forster, 1781) (Pericrocotus flammeus) Fiery Minivet (Blyth, 1846) (Pericrocotus igneus) Little Minivet (Büttikofer, 1886) (Pericrocotus lansbergei) Sunda Minivet (Temminck, 1822) (Pericrocotus miniatus) Scarlet Minivet (Latham, 1790) (Pericrocotus speciosus) Ryukyu Minivet (Stejneger, 1887) (Pericrocotus tegimae)