Cinclosomatidae Quail-thrushes and Jewel-babblers
Version: 1.0 — Published March 4, 2020
Introduction
Quail-thrushes are masters of moving swiftly and quietly through the undergrowth, sometimes popping up in unexpected places to check on human interlopers. Although they are most comfortable and competent on the ground, even building their cup nests there, they will take to the branches to sing. All resemble thrushes in shape, and perhaps also in their patterned, earthtoned plumage (though the jewel-babblers liven their plumage with swaths of rich deep blue), but they have longer tails, shorter legs, and smaller heads, lending them a distinctive sleek and low-to-the-ground appearance. Their songs are high repeated whistles, so rapid sometimes as to be trills, and often with the strident quality of the sound of grinding metal or insect calls.
Habitat
Quailthrushes mainly inhabit dry woods, arid scrubland, and open arid plains. Jewel-babblers, by contrast, prefer dense, wet forests in New Guinea, ranging from lowlands well up into the mountains.
Diet and Foraging
Cinclosomatids feed primarily on small invertebrates and seeds. They typically forage on the ground, walking slowly while turning over leaf litter and digging in the soil with their bills. Large insects are held down with one foot while they are picked apart.
Breeding
Surprisingly little is known about the breeding biology of cinclosomatids, and Ptilorrhoa species are the most poorly known. Quail-thrushes are monogamous with biparental care, likely with cooperative breeding. They build simple, loose cup nests on the ground from grasses, twigs, and bark. Jewel-babblers, in their wetter habitats, use palm fronds and other jungle vegetation in their nests. Females typically lay 1 to 3 eggs, with 2 eggs being typical in most species. The female constructs the nest alone. In most cases, only the female incubates the eggs, although in some species, the male may also incubate. The incubation period is about 14 days, and the chicks leave the nest after about two weeks. Both male and female feed the chicks, but nothing is known, apparently, about post-fledging parental care.
Conservation Status
The cinclosomatids face no im mediate conservation concerns.
Systematics History
Cinclosomatidae is part of the corvoid clade of oscine passerines, where it be longs in an early part of the radiation (Barker et al. 2004, Jønsson et al. 2007, Irestedt & Ohlson 2008, Norman et al. 2009, Jønsson et al. 2011). Like many birds in this group, the relationships of this family have been difficult to place. The studies with the broadest taxonomic sampling of Corvoidea suggest a sister relationship for Cinclosomatidae with a clade made up of Paramythiidae and Psophodidae (Jønsson et al. 2011), or with Falcunculidae (Aggerbeck et al. 2014).
Conservation Status
Least Concern |
83.3%
|
---|---|
Near Threatened |
0%
|
Vulnerable |
0%
|
Endangered |
0%
|
Critically Endangered |
0%
|
Extinct in the Wild |
0%
|
Extinct |
0%
|
Not Evaluated |
0%
|
Data Deficient |
0%
|
Unknown |
16.7%
|
Data provided by IUCN (2023) Red List. More information
Related families
The affinities of Cinclosomatidae are not well resolved, although it appears most closely related to a large radiation of the Corvoidea including Oriolidae, Malaconotidae, and Paradisaeidae.