Elachuridae – Spotted Wren-babbler
In 2014 a group of ornithologists led by Dr Trevor Price of the University of Chicago described a new family of birds found in China, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam. Based on analysis of one of the most comprehensive datasets to date of Passerida, the largest passerine bird group, Dr Price and his colleagues identified nine primary lineages (Sylvioidea, Muscicapoidea, Certhioidea, Passeroidea, the bombycillids, Paridae/Remizidae, Stenostiridae, Hyliotidae, Regulidae), and a relict lineage represented by the Spotted wren-babbler. It was previously included in the genus Spelaeornis as Spelaeornis formosus along with eight other species of wren-babblers.
It is represented by just one species:
Spotted Wren-babbler Elachura formosa.
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Spotted Wren-babbler Elachura formosa
Species AccountThe spotted elachura or spotted wren-babbler (Elachura formosa) is a species of passerine bird found in the forests of the eastern Himalayas and Southeast Asia. In the past it was included in the babbler genus Spelaeornis as S. formosus, but molecular phylogenetic studies in 2014 provided evidence that it was distinct from the babblers and part of a basal lineage (one that diverged early) with no other close living relatives within the passerine bird clade Passerida. This led to the creation of a new family, Elachuridae, to accommodate just one species (a monotypic taxon).