Barwing


The barwings are the genus Actinodura of passerine birds in the family Leiothrichidae. They are found in the hills of Southern Asia, from Eastern India to China and Taiwan.

Taxonomy

The genus Actinodura was introduced in 1836 by the English ornithologist John Gould with Actinodura egertoni Gould, 1836, the rusty-fronted barwing, as the type species. The genus name combines the Ancient Greek ακτινωδης/aktinōdēs meaning "like rays" with ουρα/oura meaning "tail".
The genus contains nine species:
ImageCommon nameScientific nameDistribution
Bar-throated minlaActinodura strigulacentral Nepal through India, southern China and Bhutan
Spectacled barwingActinodura ramsayiChina, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam
Rusty-fronted barwingActinodura egertoniSoutheast Asia from the Himalayas to north-eastern Myanmar
Blue-winged minlaActinodura cyanouropteraBangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, Tibet, and Vietnam
Hoary-throated barwingActinodura nipalensisBhutan, India, Tibet, and Nepal
Black-crowned barwingActinodura sodangorumLaos and Vietnam
Streaked barwingActinodura soulieiChina and Vietnam
Streak-throated barwingActinodura waldeniwestern Yunnan, southern Tibet, Northeast India and Myanmar
Taiwan barwingActinodura morrisonianaTaiwan