Leiothrix (bird)

Leiothrix is a genus of passerine birds in the family Leiothrichidae. They belong to a clade also containing at least the liocichlas, barwings, minlas and sibias. The sibias are possibly their closest living relatives.

Leiothrix
Silver-eared mesia Leiothrix argentauris
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Leiothrichidae
Genus:	Leiothrix Swainson, 1832
Type species
Parus furcatus[1] = Sylvia luteo Temminck, 1824
Species
Leiothrix argentauris Leiothrix lutea

Taxonomy

The genus Leiothrix was introduced in 1832 by the English naturalist William Swainson with the red-billed leiothrix as the type species.^[2][3] The genus name combines the Ancient Greek leios meaning "smooth" and thrix meaning "hair".^[4]

The genus contains two species:^[5]

Genus Leiothrix – Swainson, 1832 – two species

Common name	Scientific name and subspecies	Range	Size and ecology	IUCN status and estimated population
Silver-eared mesia	Leiothrix argentauris (Hodgson, 1837) Seven subspecies M argentauris argentauris (Hodgson, 1837) M argentauris galbana (Mayr & Greenway, 1938) M argentauris ricketti (La Touche, 1923) M argentauris cunhaci (Robinson & Kloss, 1919) M argentauris tahanensis (Yen Kwokyung, 1934) M argentauris rookmakeri (Junge, 1948) M argentauris laurinae (Salvadori, 1879)	South East Asia.	Size: Habitat: Diet:	LC
Red-billed leiothrix or "Pekin nightingale"	Leiothrix lutea (Scopoli, 1786) Five subspecies L. l. kumaiensis Whistler, 1943 L. l. calipyga (Hodgson, 1837) L. l. yunnanensis Rothschild, 1921 L. l. kwangtungensis Stresemann, 1923 L. l. lutea (Scopoli, 1786)	India, Bhutan, Nepal, Burma and parts of Tibet.	Size: Habitat: Diet:	LC

Their delicate colors and accomplished song make them popular cagebirds.