Acanthiza
Genus of birds
title: "Acanthiza" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["acanthiza", "bird-genera", "taxa-named-by-nicholas-aylward-vigors", "taxa-named-by-thomas-horsfield"] description: "Genus of birds" topic_path: "general/acanthiza" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acanthiza" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Genus of birds ::
| name = Acanthiza | image = Yellowthornbill.jpg | image_caption = Striated Thornbill (Acanthiza lineata) | taxon = Acanthiza | authority = Vigors & Horsfield, 1827 | type_species = Motacilla pusilla | type_species_authority = Shaw, 1790 | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = 14, see text.
Acanthiza is a genus of passeriform birds, most endemic to Australia, but with two species (A. murina and A. cinerea) restricted to New Guinea. These birds are commonly known as thornbills. They are not closely related to species in the hummingbird genera Chalcostigma and Ramphomicron, which are also called thornbills.
Taxonomy
The genus Acanthiza was introduced in 1827 by the naturalists Nicholas Vigors and Thomas Horsfield with Motacilla pusilla Shaw, the brown thornbill as the type species. The genus name combines the Ancient Greek ακανθα/akantha meaning "thorn" with ζαω/zaō "to inhabit" or "to live".
They are found primarily in Australia and have a thin long beak. Colloquially the thornbill is sometimes referred to as a “tit” by locals, but in reality the Australian continent lacks any true tits, albeit Acanthiza species do show some similarities with tits in their behavior. They have a similar role as small insect-eating birds with titmice and kinglets. Like tits, Thornbills live in small groups foraging amidst trees and shrubs, and feed in a similar manner. Cooperative breeding is recorded from most species except the brown and Tasmanian thornbills.
The habitat preferences of the group vary from dense forest to open saltbush and bluebush plains.
Acanthiza follow a very characteristic undulating path when flying. Their diet is formed essentially of little insects and plant lice that these birds glean from foliage. They are also exceptional acrobats that are easily able to stay head downward like tits do.
The nest of the Acanthiza is a large dome-shaped construction, completely enclosed except for a side hole, just like that of the long-tailed tit; however Acanthiza adds to it an additional room whose function is unknown. It is somewhat similar to the Aegithalidae in combining long incubation periods with highly synchronous hatching. This combination, normally impossible due to intense competition for food, occurs because parents and (usually) helpers can organise food supply in such a manner that sibling competition for food is virtually absent.
The number of eggs usually ranges from two to four, and the incubation period is around twenty days with laying intervals of two days. The length of an adult bird is 8 to.
Species
The genus contains 14 species: ::data[format=table]
| Image | Common name | Scientific name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mountain thornbill | Acanthiza katherina | north-east Queensland, Australia | |
| [[File:Acanthiza pusilla - Risdon Brook.jpg | 120px]] | Brown thornbill | Acanthiza pusilla |
| [[File:Inland thornbill 0A2A2135.jpg | 120px]] | Inland thornbill | Acanthiza apicalis |
| [[File:Tasmanian Thornbill - Tasmania S4E5890 (22399609731).jpg | 120px]] | Tasmanian thornbill | Acanthiza ewingii |
| New Guinea thornbill | Acanthiza murina | New Guinea | |
| [[File:Chestnut-rumped Thornbill, on branch.jpg | 120px]] | Chestnut-rumped thornbill | Acanthiza uropygialis |
| [[File:Acanthiza reguloides.jpg | 120px]] | Buff-rumped thornbill | Acanthiza reguloides |
| [[File:Acanthiza inornata 248090568.jpg | 120px]] | Western thornbill | Acanthiza inornata |
| Slender-billed thornbill | Acanthiza iredalei | Australia. | |
| [[File:Acanthiza chrysorrhoa -Canberra, Australia-8 (2).jpg | 120px]] | Yellow-rumped thornbill | Acanthiza chrysorrhoa |
| [[File:Acanthiza nana - Wianamatta Reserve.jpg | 120px]] | Yellow thornbill | Acanthiza nana |
| Grey thornbill | Acanthiza cinerea | New Guinea | |
| [[File:Acanthiza lineata - Wianamatta Reserve.jpg | 120px]] | Striated thornbill | Acanthiza lineata |
| [[File:Slaty-backed Thornbill - Christopher Watson (cropped).jpg | 120px]] | Slaty-backed thornbill | Acanthiza robustirostris |
| :: |
References
- Del Hoyo, J.; Elliot, A. & Christie D. (editors). (2006). Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 12: Picathartes to Tits and Chickadees. Lynx Edicions.
References
- . ["Acanthizidae"](https://www.aviansystematics.org/4th-edition-checklist?viewfamilies=170). *The Trust for Avian Systematics*.
- (1826). "Australian birds in the collection of the Linnean Society; with an attempt at arranging them according to their natural affinities". Transactions of the Linnean Society of London.
- (1986). "Check-list of Birds of the World". Museum of Comparative Zoology.
- Jobling, James A.. "Acanthiza". Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
- (1986). "A Comparison of the Social Organization of Three Syntopic Species of Australian Thornbill, ''Acanthiza''". Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology.
- Higging, P.J. and J.M. Peter; ''[[Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds]]'', vol. 6: [[Pardalote]]s to [[Shrike-thrush]]es. {{ISBN. 0-19-553762-9
- Ricklefs, R.E.; “Sibling competition, hatching asynchrony, incubation period, and lifespan in altricial birds”; in Power, Dennis M. (editor); ''Current Ornithology''. Vol. 11. {{ISBN. 9780306439902
- Losdat, Sylvain, Helfenstein, Fabrice, Gaude, Benoît and Richner, Heinz; [https://archive.today/20130415181620/http://beheco.oxfordjournals.org/content/21/6/1271.full “Effect of sibling competition and male carotenoid supply on offspring condition and oxidative stress”]
- Ricklefs, Robert E.; [http://www.umsl.edu/~ricklefsr/Reprints/R2002b.pdf “SIBLING COMPETITION AND THE EVOLUTION OF BROOD SIZE AND DEVELOPMENT RATE IN BIRDS”] {{Webarchive. link. (2015-09-19)
- (2019). "Bristlebirds, pardalotes, Australasian warblers". International Ornithologists' Union.
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