Yuhina

Abstract: The babblers, family Timaliidae, are an importantgroup of Old World insectivorous passerines (Sibleyand Monroe 1990). The family comprises more thantwo hundred species, primarily forest birds, distributedfor the most part in South-East Asia and Africa. Aswith many of the passerine families, the Timaliidae doesnot have diagnostic morphological characters (Mayrand Amadon 1951). The morphological features gener-ally attributed to the babbler group are the absence ofa distinct juvenile plumage, size and shape heavier thanthe warblers (Sylviidae), especially bill and legs, andsexes alike in most species (Delacour 1946). Behavioralcharacters are also often used to define the Timaliidaeas a group. The most important feature is the highdegree of sociality of these non-migratory birds, whichmanifests itself in many ways. Babblers often gather inparties and flocks, some species being cooperativebreeders (Gaston 1977, 1978). Individuals of most bab-bler species clump together when perched during theday and while roosting at night, and mutual preening isobserved in many species (Simmons 1963). Despitethese similarities, the babblers display great morpholog-ical and ecological diversity (Delacour 1946), and thesystematics of the Timaliidae and related members ofthe Old World insectivorous passerines have been par-ticularly difficult (see review in Sibley and Ahlquist1990). Since Delacour’s work (1946), there is a continu-ing interest in babblers systematics (Irwin 1983, Ripleyand Beehler 1985a, Van de Weghe 1988), and newforms are still being described (Ripley and Beehler1985b, Gonzales and Kennedy 1990, Eames et al.1999a, b).This study of the systematics and phylogeny of theTimaliidae used molecular markers to clarify the evolu-tion of this complex group. A previous study dealt withthe ‘‘babbler-like’’ endemics of the island of Madagas-

Abstract: Four new species of Guimaraesiella Eichler, 1949 are described and illustrated based on specimens collected in South China. They are: Guimaraesiella (Cicchinella) citreisoma new species ex Leiothrix lutea kwangtungensis Whistler, 1943 (Leiothrichidae); Guimaraesiella (Cicchinella) corrugata new species ex Alcippe hueti hueti David, 1874 (Leiothrichidae); Guimaraesiella (Cicchinella) petilorica new species ex Alcippe nipalensis nipalensis (Hodgson, 1837) (Leiothrichidae); and Guimaraesiella (Cicchinella) yuhinae new species from Yuhina flavicollis rouxi (Oustalet, 1896) (Zosteropidae); this is the first species of the Brueelia-complex recorded from a member of the Zosteropidae.

Abstract: The phylogenetic relationship of the Wrentit (Chamaea fasciata) to other passerine birds is understood poorly. A variety of taxa have been proposed as closely related to the Wrentit, but in general this species is placed in a monotypic taxon to emphasize its morphological distinctiveness and lack of clear relationship to other groups of birds. We used the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene to infer the relationship of this monotypic genus to other avian groups including representatives of Sylvioidea, Muscicapoidea, and Passeroidea. Results of this study corroborate in part earlier proposals based on DNA-DNA hybridization. Maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood, and Bayesian phylogenetic analyses support the Wrentit, Sylvia, and babblers (Garrulax, Illadopsis, Leiothrix, Pomatorhinus, Stachyris, and Yuhina) as a clade, with the Wrentit sharing a more recent common ancestor with Sylvia than with babblers. A Sylvia and Wrentit association is further supported by similarities in morphology and ecology. I...

Abstract: Mitochondrial sequences (2,379 bp) from cytochrome b, ND3, 12s and 16s rRNA were analyzed in order to reconstruct the phylogenetic relationships within the yuhinas (Yuhina), including the chestnut-faced babbler Stachyris whiteheadi which is endemic to the Philippines, the Japanese white-eye Zosterops japonicus, the chestnut-flanked white-eye Z. erythropleurus, and the oriental white-eye Z. palpebrosus. The results showed strong support for the idea that S.whiteheadi and three white-eye species form a clade embedded within the Yuhina clade. The robustness of the Yuhina/Philippine Stachyris/Zosterops clade rejected the validity of the monotypic genus Staphida, which was proposed for the striated yuhina Yuhina castaniceps based on its peculiar morphological traits. Sister group relationships between the striped-throated yuhina Yuhina gularis and the rufous-vented yuhina Yuhina occipitalis and between the whiskered yuhina Yuhina flavicollis and the white-naped yuhina Yuhina bakeri were discovered. The sympatric patterns of the above two sister groups in the Himalayas is most likely due to secondary contact. The molecular phylogeny also suggests that crestlessness was derived just once for the Zosterops/Philippine Stachyris clade. The Zosterops/Philippine Stachyris clade in our study also implies that an ancestor of Zosterops/Philippine Stachyris derived the ability to disperse over long distances, so that it could fly over the sea and arrive at the Philippines.