Liocichla

The liocichlas are a group of birds in the genus of the same name, Liocichla, from the family Leiothrichidae. They are found in Asia from India to China. They belong to a clade also containing at least the Leiothrix, the barwings, the minlas and the sibias. The Liocichla radiation likely began sometime between the mid-Miocene and the Miocene-Pliocene boundary^[2].

Liocichla
Scarlet-faced liocichla (Liocichla ripponi)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Leiothrichidae
Genus:	Liocichla R. Swinhoe, 1877
Type species
Liocichla steerii[1] Swinhoe, 1877
Species
See text

Taxonomy

L. steerii, endemic to the island of Taiwan, is the sister species to all other species in the genus^[2]. Molecular evidence also indicates that an L. phoenicea/L. ripponi clade is sister to an L. bugunorum/L. omeiensis clade, and suggests a complex biogeographic history in the group^[2].

L. steerii L. omeiensis L. bugunorum L. phoenicea L. ripponi

Phylogeny of the genus.[3]

Species

The genus contains five species:^[4]

Image	Scientific name	Common name	Distribution
	Liocichla phoenicea	Red-faced liocichla	Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Northeast India, Nepal and western Yunnan.
	Liocichla ripponi	Scarlet-faced liocichla	Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, and southern China.
	Liocichla omeiensis	Emei Shan liocichla	Sichuan, China.
	Liocichla bugunorum	Bugun liocichla	Arunachal Pradesh, India
	Liocichla steerii	Steere's liocichla	Taiwan.

See also

• Bird species new to science described in the 2000s