Lonchura

Chestnut-breasted mannikins Lonchura castaneothorax, photographed by Duncan McCaskill.

Belongs within: Estrildidae.

Lonchura, the mannikins or munias, is a genus of finch-like birds found in Africa, southern Asia and Australia. Members of this genus have stout, large bills, medium to relatively long tails, and lack bright primary or secondary colours in their plumage, being generally coloured with browns, greys, whites and blacks. The Java sparrow Lonchura oryzivora is a distinctive species with a relatively large red bill, together with a grey back, black head and white cheeks, that has sometimes been placed in a separate genus Padda. The chestnut-breasted mannikin L. castaneothorax is native to northern and eastern Australia and New Guinea but has been introduced to France and Tahiti; it has a brown back, black face, greyish nape, and a broad brown breast band above a white belly.

<==Lonchura Sykes 1832 B94
    |--L. nana BKB15 [=Spermestes nana S66]
    `--+--+--L. castaneothorax (Gould 1837) BKB15, CC10 (see below for synonymy)
       |  `--L. oryzivora (Linnaeus 1758) BKB15, CC10 (see below for synonymy)
       `--+--L. punctulata BKB15
          |    |--L. p. punctulata L81
          |    |--L. p. cabanisi L81
          |    `--L. p. topela L81
          `--+--+--L. leucogastroides JT12
             |  `--+--L. kelaarti JT12
             |     `--L. striata BKB15
             `--+--L. quinticolor BKB15
                `--+--L. malacca BKB15
                   |    |--L. m. malacca L81
                   |    |--L. m. ferruginosa L81
                   |    `--L. m. jagori L81
                   `--+--L. maja (Linnaeus 1776) JT12, WS48 [=Loxia maja WS48]
                      `--L. pallida JT12

Lonchura incertae sedis:
  L. atricapilla JT12 [=L. malacca atricapilla VP89]
  L. flaviprymna (Gould 1845) JT12, WS48 [=Donacola flaviprymna WS48, L. maja flaviprymna WS48]
  L. forbesi JT12
  L. fuscans JT12
  ‘Padda’ fuscata JT12
  L. grandis JT12
  L. hunsteini JT12
  L. leucogastra JT12
  L. leucosticta JT12 [=L. tristissima leucosticta M03]
  L. melaena JT12
  L. molucca JT12
  L. montana JT12
  L. monticola JT12
  L. nevermanni JT12
  L. nigerrima JT12
  L. spectabilis JT12
  L. stygia JT12
  L. teerinki JT12
  L. tristissima JT12
  L. vana JT12

Lonchura castaneothorax (Gould 1837) BKB15, CC10 [=Amadina castaneothorax CC10, Donacola castaneothorax CC10, Munia castaneithorax (l. c.) CC10; incl. Munia castaneothorax gangi Mathews 1912 WS48, Lonchura thorpei Mathews 1913 WS48]

Lonchura oryzivora (Linnaeus 1758) BKB15, CC10 [=Loxia oryzivora CC10, Munia orizyvora (l. c.) CC10, M. oryzivora CC10, Padda oryzivora CC10]

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[B94] Bock, W. J. 1994. History and nomenclature of avian family-group names. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 222: 1–281.

[BKB15] Burleigh, J. G., R. T. Kimball & E. L. Braun. 2015. Building the avian tree of life using a large-scale, sparse supermatrix. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 84: 53–63.

[CC10] Checklist Committee (OSNZ). 2010. Checklist of the Birds of New Zealand, Norfolk and Macquarie Islands, and the Ross Dependency, Antarctica 4^th ed. Ornithological Society of New Zealand and Te Papa Press: Wellington.

[JT12] Jetz, W., G. H. Thomas, J. B. Joy, K. Hartmann & A. Ø. Mooers. 2012. The global diversity of birds in space and time. Nature 491: 444–448.

[L81] Long, J. L. 1981. Introduced Birds of the World: The worldwide history, distribution and influence of birds introduced to new environments. Reed: Sydney.

[M03] Morcombe, M. 2003. Field Guide to Australian Birds 2^nd ed. Steve Parish Publishing.

[S66] Schlegel, H. 1866. Communication from, on mammals and birds collected in Madagascar. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1866: 419–426.

[VP89] Viney, C., & K. Phillipps. 1989. Birds of Hong Kong 5^th ed. Government Printer: Hong Kong.

[WS48] Whittell, H. M., & D. L. Serventy. 1948. A systematic list of the birds of Western Australia. Public Library, Museum and Art Gallery of Western Australia, Special Publication 1: 1–126.

Last updated: 8 July 2019.

Poephilinae

Long-tailed finches Poephila acuticauda, photographed by Hans & Judy Beste.

Belongs within: Estrildidae.

The Poephilinae includes the grass-finches of Australia and New Guinea. Members of this group are united by their courtship behaviour, including an extended introductory 'waltz'. The zebra finches of the genus Taeniopyga are popular cage birds around the world, and have been introduced to parts of the Americas. Members of the northern Australian genus Poephila have a buff or brown back, black facial markings, and a white rump above a black tail.

<==Poephilinae B94
    |--Neochmia phaeton BKB15
    |    |--N. p. phaeton [incl. N. p. iredalei] M03
    |    `--N. p. evangelinae M03
    `--+--Taeniopygia BKB15
       |    |--T. bichenovii BKB15 [=Stizoptera bichenovii JF06]
       |    `--T. castanotis (Gould 1837) BKB15, CC10 (see below for synonymy)
       `--+--Bathilda ruficauda JF06 [=Neochmia ruficauda BKB15]
          |    |--B. r. ruficauda M03
          |    `--‘Neochmia’ r. clarescens M03
          `--+--+--Neochmia temporalis (Latham 1802) BKB15, CC10 (see below for synonymy)
             |  |    |--N. t. temporalis M03
             |  |    |--N. t. loftyi M03
             |  |    `--N. t. minor M03
             |  `--Emblema Gould 1842 BKB15, B94 [incl. Zonaeginthus Cabanis 1851 B94; Zonaeginthinae]
             |       |--E. guttata L81
             |       |--E. oculatum (Quoy & Gaimard 1830) SJ85, WS48 (see below for synonymy)
             |       |--‘Zonaeginthus’ phaeton FP64
             |       |--E. pictum Gould 1842 JT12, WS48 (see below for synonymy)
             |       `--E. temporale SJ85
             `--Poephila Gould 1842 BKB15, B94
                  |  i. s.: P. bichenovii (Vigors & Horsfield 1827) [=Fringilla bichenovii] WS48
                  |         P. gouldiae (Gould 1844) (see below for synonymy) WS48
                  |         P. longicauda R87
                  |         P. mirabilis S13
                  |         P. phaeton (Hombron & Jacquinot 1841) (see below for synonymy) WS48
                  |         P. ruficauda (Gould 1837) (see below for synonymy) WS48
                  |--P. personata Gould 1842 JT12, WS48 (see below for synonymy)
                  |    |--P. p. personata M03
                  |    `--P. p. leucotis M03
                  `--+--Aidemosyne modesta JF06 [=Neochmia modesta BKB15]
                     `--+--P. acuticauda (Gould 1839) JT12, WS48 (see below for synonymy)
                        `--P. cincta (Gould 1837) JT12, CC10 [=Amadina cincta CC10]
                             |--P. c. cincta M03
                             |--P. c. atropygialis M03
                             `--P. c. nigrotecta M03

Emblema oculatum (Quoy & Gaimard 1830) SJ85, WS48 [=Fringilla oculata WS48, Zonaeginthus oculatus WS48; incl. Z. oculatus gaimardi Mathews 1923 WS48]

Emblema pictum Gould 1842 JT12, WS48 [=Zonaeginthus pictus WS48; incl. E. picta clelandi Mathews 1914 WS48, E. picta conngani Mathews 1912 WS48]

Neochmia temporalis (Latham 1802) BKB15, CC10 [=Fringilla temporalis CC10, Aegintha temporalis CC10, Estrelda temporalis CC10]

Poephila acuticauda (Gould 1839) JT12, WS48 [=Amadina acuticauda WS48; incl. P. acuticauda hecki M03]

Poephila gouldiae (Gould 1844) [=Amadina gouldiae; incl. Gouldaeornis gouldiae westra Mathews 1923] WS48

Poephila personata Gould 1842 JT12, WS48 [incl. P. personata belcheri Mathews 1911 WS48, Neochmia personata harterti Mathews 1912 WS48]

Poephila phaeton (Hombron & Jacquinot 1841) [=Fringilla phaeton; incl. Neochmia phaeton fitzroyi Mathews 1912] WS48

Poephila ruficauda (Gould 1837) [=Amadina ruficauda; incl. Aegintha ruficauda subclarescens Mathews 1912, Ae. ruficauda thorpei Mathews 1912] WS48

Taeniopygia castanotis (Gould 1837) BKB15, CC10 [=Amadina castanotis CC10, Poephila guttata castonotis WS48, L81, Taeniopygia guttata castanotis CC10; incl. Loxia guttata Vieillot 1807 non Shaw 1796 WS48, P. guttata H86, Taeniopygia guttata JT12, T. castanotis hartogi Mathews 1920 WS48, Zonaeginthus castanotis mungi Mathews 1912 WS48, Z. castanotis roebucki Mathews 1913 WS48, Z. castanotis wayensis Mathews 1912 WS48]

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[B94] Bock, W. J. 1994. History and nomenclature of avian family-group names. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 222: 1–281.

[BKB15] Burleigh, J. G., R. T. Kimball & E. L. Braun. 2015. Building the avian tree of life using a large-scale, sparse supermatrix. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 84: 53–63.

[CC10] Checklist Committee (OSNZ). 2010. Checklist of the Birds of New Zealand, Norfolk and Macquarie Islands, and the Ross Dependency, Antarctica 4^th ed. Ornithological Society of New Zealand and Te Papa Press: Wellington.

[FP64] Fisher, J., & R. T. Peterson. 1964. The World of Birds: A comprehensive guide to general ornithology. Macdonald: London.

[H86] Harvey, P. H. 1986. Birds, bands and better broods? Trends in Ecology and Evolution 1 (1): 8–9.

[JT12] Jetz, W., G. H. Thomas, J. B. Joy, K. Hartmann & A. Ø. Mooers. 2012. The global diversity of birds in space and time. Nature 491: 444–448.

[JF06] Jønsson, K. A., & J. Fjeldså. 2006. A phylogenetic supertree of oscine passerine birds. Zoologica Scripta 35: 149–186.

[L81] Long, J. L. 1981. Introduced Birds of the World: The worldwide history, distribution and influence of birds introduced to new environments. Reed: Sydney.

[M03] Morcombe, M. 2003. Field Guide to Australian Birds 2^nd ed. Steve Parish Publishing.

[R87] Ramsay, E. P. 1887. Descriptions of Australian birds' eggs. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, series 2, 1 (4): 1141–1152, pl. 19.

[S13] Sarasin, F. 1913. Die Vögel Neu-Caledoniens und der Loyalty-Inseln. In: Sarasin, F., & J. Roux (eds) Nova Caledonia: Forschungen in Neu-Caledonian und auf den Loyalty-Inseln. A. Zoologie vol. 1 pt 1 pp. 1–78, pls 1–3. C. W. Kreidels Verlag: Wiesbaden.

[SJ85] Storr, G. M., & R. E. Johnstone. 1985. Field Guide to the Birds of Western Australia 2^nd ed. Western Australian Museum: Perth (Australia).

[WS48] Whittell, H. M., & D. L. Serventy. 1948. A systematic list of the birds of Western Australia. Public Library, Museum and Art Gallery of Western Australia, Special Publication 1: 1–126.

Last updated: 8 July 2019.

Estrildidae

Red-backed mannikin Lonchura nigriceps, copyright Alan Mason.

Belongs within: Passerida.
Contains: Poephilinae, Lonchura, Erythrura, Lagonosticta, Estrilda.

The Estrildidae, the waxbills, are a family of small, gregarious finch-like birds with small, stout, pointed bills and short rounded wings found in Africa, southern Asia and Australasia. Many waxbills are brightly coloured, and this family includes many of the 'finches' of the aviary trade. The phylogenetic analyses by Burleigh et al. (2015) and Jetz et al. (2012) support a basal African clade including the green-backed twinspot Mandingoa nitidula and the crimsonwings Cryptospiza. Other members of the family include the Australian firetails of the genus Stagonopleura, characterised by a red bill, brown upperparts with a bright red rump, and barred underparts.

<==Estrildidae [Astrildidae, Estreldidae, Estrildinae, Lonchurinae]
    |  i. s.: Oreostruthus fuliginosus JT12
    |         Lemuresthes nana JF06
    |--+--Mandingoa nitidula BKB15
    |  `--Cryptospiza Salvadori 1884 JT12, B94 [Cryptospizinae]
    |       |--C. jacksoni JT12
    |       |--C. reichenovii JT12
    |       `--C. salvadorii JT12
    `--+--+--Poephilinae BKB15
       |  `--+--+--Odontospiza BKB15
       |     |  |    |--O. caniceps [=Lonchura caniceps] JF06
       |     |  |    `--O. griseicapilla BKB15 [=Lonchura griseicapilla JT12]
       |     |  `--Spermestes Swainson 1837 BKB15, B94
       |     |       |--S. cucullatus BKB15 [=Lonchura cucullata JF06]
       |     |       |    |--S. c. cucullatus L81
       |     |       |    `--‘Lonchura cucullata’ scutata L81
       |     |       `--+--S. fringilloides BKB15 [=Lonchura fringilloides JF06]
       |     |          `--+--S. bicolor BKB15 [=Lonchura bicolor JF06]
       |     |             `--‘Lonchura’ nigriceps JT12
       |     `--+--Lonchura BKB15
       |        `--+--Euodice BKB15
       |           |    |--E. cantans BKB15 [=Lonchura malabarica cantans JF06, L81]
       |           |    `--E. malabarica BKB15 [=Lonchura malabarica JF06]
       |           `--Stagonopleura BKB15
       |                |--S. bella (Latham 1802) [=Loxia bella, Zonaeginthus bellus] CC10
       |                |    |--S. b. bella CC10
       |                |    `--S. b. samueli (Mathews 1912) [=Zonaeginthus bellus samueli] CC10
       |                |--S. guttata (Shaw 1796) [=Loxia guttata, Steganopleura (l. c.) guttata] CC10
       |                `--S. oculata JT12
       `--+--+--Chloebia gouldiae JF06
          |  `--Erythrura BKB15
          `--+--+--+--+--‘Lagonosticta’ sanguinodorsalis BKB15
             |  |  |  `--Ortygospiza BKB15
             |  |  |       |--O. atricollis JT12
             |  |  |       |--O. fuscocrissa JT12
             |  |  |       |--O. gabonensis JT12
             |  |  |       `--O. locustella JT12
             |  |  `--+--‘Pytilia’ melba BKB15
             |  |     `--+--Euschistospiza Wolters 1943 BKB15, B94 (see below for synonymy)
             |  |        |    `--E. cinereovinacea JT12
             |  |        `--Hypargos BKB15
             |  |             |--H. margaritatus JT12
             |  |             `--H. niveoguttatus JT12
             |  `--+--Lagonosticta BKB15
             |     `--+--Pyrenestes Swainson 1837 BKB15, B94 [Pyrenestinae]
             |        |    |--P. minor JT12
             |        |    `--P. sanguineus JT12
             |        |--Granatina Sharpe 1890 BKB15, B94
             |        |    `--G. granatina BKB15 [=Uraeginthus granatinus JF06]
             |        `--+--Uraeginthus Cabanis 1851 JT12, B94
             |           |    |--U. angolensis JT12
             |           |    |    |--U. a. angolensis L81
             |           |    |    `--U. a. niassensis L81
             |           |    `--+--U. bengalus JT12
             |           |       `--U. cyanocephalus JT12
             |           `--+--‘Pyrenestes’ ostrinus BKB15
             |              `--+--Spermophaga BKB15
             |                 |    |--S. haematina JT12
             |                 |    |--S. poliogenys JT12
             |                 |    `--S. ruficapilla JT12
             |                 `--Pytilia Swainson 1837 JT12, B94 [Pytiliidae, Pytiliinae]
             |                      |--P. afra BKB15
             |                      `--+--P. lineata BKB15
             |                         `--+--P. hypogrammica BKB15
             |                            `--P. phoenicoptera JT12
             `--+--Heteromunia Mathews 1913 BKB15, B94 [Heteromuniinae]
                |    `--H. pectoralis (Gould 1840) BKB15, WS48 [=Amadina pectoralis WS48, Lonchura pectoralis WS48]
                `--+--Sporaeginthus formosus BKB15
                   |--+--Amadina Swainson 1827 BKB15, B94 [Amadininae]
                   |  |    |--A. cucullata D66
                   |  |    |--A. erythrocephala JT12
                   |  |    |--A. fasciata JT12
                   |  |    |--A. lathami B66
                   |  |    `--A. modesta R87
                   |  `--+--‘Euschistospiza’ dybowskii BKB15
                   |     `--+--Sporaeginthus subflavus BKB15
                   |        `--Amandava Blyth 1836 BKB15, B94 [Amandavinae]
                   |             |--A. formosa JT12
                   |             `--+--A. amandava JT12
                   |                |    |--A. a. amandava L81
                   |                |    `--A. a. punicea L81
                   |                `--A. subflava JT12
                   `--+--Nigrita BKB15
                      |    |  i. s.: N. fusconotus JT12
                      |    |         N. luteifrons JT12
                      |    |--N. canicapillus JT12
                      |    `--+--N. bicolor JT12
                      |       `--Parmoptila JT12
                      |            |--P. jamesoni JT12
                      |            |--P. rubrifrons JT12 [=Pholidornis rubrifrons SPS03]
                      |            `--P. woodhousei JT12
                      `--+--+--‘Nesocharis’ capistata BKB15
                         |  `--Estrilda BKB15
                         `--+--+--Coccopygia melanotis BKB15 [=Estrilda melanotis JF06]
                            |  `--‘Cryptospiza’ shelleyi BKB15
                            `--+--Coccopygia quartinia BKB15 [=Estrilda quartinia JF06]
                               `--Nesocharis BKB15
                                    |--N. ansorgei JT12
                                    `--N. shelleyi JT12

Euschistospiza Wolters 1943 BKB15, B94 [incl. Didymosticta Steiner 1960 (n. n.) B94; Didymostictinae]

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[B66] Bartlett, A. D. 1866. Notes on the breeding of several species of birds in the Society's gardens during the year 1865. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1866: 76–79.

[B94] Bock, W. J. 1994. History and nomenclature of avian family-group names. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 222: 1–281.

[BKB15] Burleigh, J. G., R. T. Kimball & E. L. Braun. 2015. Building the avian tree of life using a large-scale, sparse supermatrix. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 84: 53–63.

[CC10] Checklist Committee (OSNZ). 2010. Checklist of the Birds of New Zealand, Norfolk and Macquarie Islands, and the Ross Dependency, Antarctica 4^th ed. Ornithological Society of New Zealand and Te Papa Press: Wellington.

[D66] Dohrn, H. 1866. Synopsis of the birds of Ilha do Principe, with some remarks on their habits and descriptions of new species. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1866: 324–332.

[JT12] Jetz, W., G. H. Thomas, J. B. Joy, K. Hartmann & A. Ø. Mooers. 2012. The global diversity of birds in space and time. Nature 491: 444–448.

[JF06] Jønsson, K. A., & J. Fjeldså. 2006. A phylogenetic supertree of oscine passerine birds. Zoologica Scripta 35: 149–186.

[L81] Long, J. L. 1981. Introduced Birds of the World: The worldwide history, distribution and influence of birds introduced to new environments. Reed: Sydney.

[R87] Ramsay, E. P. 1887. Descriptions of Australian birds' eggs. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, series 2, 1 (4): 1141–1152, pl. 19.

[SPS03] Sefc, K. M., R. B. Payne & M. D. Sorenson. 2003. Phylogenetic relationships of African sunbird-like warblers: Moho (Hyperergus atriceps), green hylia (Hylia prasina) and tit-hylia (Pholidornis rushiae). Ostrich 74: 8–17.

[WS48] Whittell, H. M., & D. L. Serventy. 1948. A systematic list of the birds of Western Australia. Public Library, Museum and Art Gallery of Western Australia, Special Publication 1: 1–126.

Last updated: 9 July 2019.