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. Among these, they are an early offshoot, or basal lineage.

Taxonomy

Speciation in the group is thought to have begun with the ancestral species originating somewhere in southern China, making L. steerii the basal species. The lineage consisting of L. ripponi and L. phoenicea are thought to have had a split in the Pleistocene (0.07–1.88 Ma) with a similar split of the other lineage leading to L. bugunorum and L. omeiensis separated by the Hengduan mountains. Template:Cladogram

Species

The genus contains five species:

Image	Scientific name	Common Name	Distribution
File:Red faced Liocichla.jpg	Liocichla phoenicea	Red-faced liocichla	Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Northeast India, Nepal and western Yunnan.
File:Liocichla phoenicea - Chiang Mai.jpg	Liocichla ripponi	Scarlet-faced liocichla	Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, and southern China.
	Liocichla omeiensis	Emei Shan liocichla	Sichuan, China.
File:Bugun Loichichla.jpg	Liocichla bugunorum	Bugun liocichla	Arunachal Pradesh, India
File:Steere's Liocichla - Taiwan S4E6694 (19301823680).jpg	Liocichla steerii	Steere's liocichla	Taiwan.

See also

• Bird species new to science described in the 2000s