Cyanoderma


Cyanoderma is a genus of passerine birds in the Old World babbler family Timaliidae. Many of these species were formerly placed in the genus ''Stachyris''

Taxonomy

A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2012 found that the genus Stachyris was paraphyletic. In the subsequent reorganization to create monophyletic genera, the genus Cyanoderma was resurrected to accommodate a group of species formerly assigned to Stachyris. The genus Cyanoderma had been introduced in 1874 by the Italian zoologist Tommaso Salvadori with chestnut-winged babbler as the type species. The name combines the Ancient Greek kuanos meaning "dark-blue" with derma meaning "skin".

Species

The genus contains the following species:
ImageCommon nameScientific nameDistribution
Chestnut-winged babblerCyanoderma erythropterumMalay Peninsula, Sumatra
Grey-hooded babblerCyanoderma bicolorBorneo
Crescent-chested babblerCyanoderma melanothoraxJava and Bali
Rufous-fronted babblerCyanoderma rufifronsSikkim, Bhutan Dooars and northeast India
Rufous-capped babblerCyanoderma ruficepsEastern Himalayas to northern Thailand, Laos, eastern China to Vietnam and Taiwan
Black-chinned babblerCyanoderma pyrrhopsthe Himalayas from the Murree Hills in Pakistan to eastern Nepal
Golden babblerCyanoderma chrysaeumthe Eastern Himalayas to Southeast Asia

Deignan's babbler Cyanoderma rodolphei collected in 1939 at Doi Chiang Dao in Thailand is considered synonymous with the rufous-fronted babbler.