Shrikebill
Genus of birds
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The shrikebills are the monarch flycatcher genus Clytorhynchus. The five species have long laterally compressed bills similar to true shrikes that give them their names. The genus is endemic to the islands of Melanesia and western Polynesia.[2]
| Shrikebills | |
|---|---|
| |
| Black-throated shrikebill | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Monarchidae |
| Genus: | Clytorhynchus Elliot, 1870 |
| Type species | |
| Clytorhynchus pachycephaloides[1] Elliot, 1870 | |
| Diversity | |
| 5 species | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
The shrikebills are insectivorous, and use their large heavy bills to explore tangles of dead leaves and dead wood; an unusual foraging strategy for their family.[2] Their diet may also include small fruits and lizards.
Taxonomy and systematics
Extant species
The genus Clytorhynchus contains the following species:[3]
| Image | Common name | Scientific name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Southern shrikebill | Clytorhynchus pachycephaloides | New Caledonia and Vanuatu. |
 | Fiji shrikebill | Clytorhynchus vitiensis | American Samoa, Fiji, and Tonga. |
| Black-throated shrikebill | Clytorhynchus nigrogularis | Fiji and Solomon Islands. |
| Santa Cruz shrikebill | Clytorhynchus sanctaecrucis | Solomon Islands. | |
 | Rennell shrikebill | Clytorhynchus hamlini | Rennell Island in the Solomon Islands. I |
Former species
Formerly, some authorities also considered the following species (or subspecies) as species within the genus Clytorhynchus:
- Sangihe whistler (as Pinarolestes sanghirensis)[4]
- Little shrikethrush (as Pinarolestes megarhynchos or Pinarolestes megarhynchus)[5]
