The relationships of the Fieldwren Calamanthus fuliginosus (Acanthizinae)

Abstract

Calamanthus differs in a variety of ways from Sericornis, with which it has recently been lumped. These include aspects of display, the song, the heavily streaked dorsal surface and white tips to the tail. Some of the differences are shared with Chthonicola, Pyrrkolaemus and Hylacola and are obviously adaptive to habitat and way of life. It is argued that it is not justifiable to group these genera with Sericornis, which is a zoogeographically well-defined forest genus and that, although all are relatively similar in measurements, they should be kept distinct.