Shrikethrush

Taxonomy and systematics

The shrikethrush genus was first described in 1827 by Nicholas Aylward Vigors and Thomas Horsfield. They created the name from the Ancient Greek words collurio, meaning "shrike," and cinclos, meaning "thrush." Because of the bird's beak, they believed it was related to shrikes or vangas, even though its overall shape was similar to that of thrushes. During the 1800s, these birds were commonly called colluricinclas, but the name shrikethrush was already in use by the end of that century.

Genetic research from 2009 and 2010 placed shrikethrushes within the whistler family, Pachycephalidae. In the past, some experts had classified them in their own separate family, Colluricinclidae. Molecular dating indicates that shrikethrushes split from their closest relatives, the genus Pseudorectes, around 3 million years ago in the mid-Pliocene. That combined lineage then diverged from the other members of Pachycephalidae about 5 million years ago in the early Pliocene.

The Sangihe whistler was found to be more closely related to the maroon-backed whistler, so it was moved to the genus Coracornis. Studies of little shrikethrush populations in New Guinea show high genetic differences, suggesting this bird may actually consist of more than one species. The genus currently includes five species. In the past, some authorities also considered several other birds as part of the Colluricincla genus, including the Sangihe whistler, island whistler, yellow-throated whistler, Biak whistler, morningbird, white-bellied pitohui, rusty pitohui, Fiji shrikebill, Fiji shrikebill (buensis), Futuna lesser shrikebill, and Fiji shrikebill (heinei).