Leiothrix (bird)

Leiothrix
	Silver-eared Mesia; Leiothrix argentauris
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Timaliidae
Genus:	Leiothrix; Swainson in Richardson, 1832
Species
	Leiothrix argentauris; Leiothrix lutea

Leiothrix is a genus in the Old World babbler family. Among the Old World babblers proper, they belong to a clade also containing at least the liocichlas, barwings, minlas and sibias. The sibias are possibly their closest living relatives (Cibois 2003).

There are two species:

Silver-eared Mesia, Leiothrix argentauris
Red-billed Leiothrix or "Pekin Nightingale", Leiothrix lutea

Their delicate colors and accomplished song make them popular cagebirds.

References

Cibois, Alice (2003a): Mitochondrial DNA Phylogeny of Babblers (Timaliidae). Auk 120(1): 1-20. DOI: 10.1642/0004-8038(2003)120[0035:MDPOBT]2.0.CO;2 HTML fulltext without images
Collar N. J. & Robson C. (2007). Family Picathartidae (Picathartes) Pp. 70 - 291 in; del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A. & Christie, D.A. eds. Handbook of the Birds of the World, Vol. 12. Picathartes to Tits and Chickadees. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. ISBN 9788496553422

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