A quail-thrush is a bird of the genus Cinclosoma, which contains eight species. Quail-thrushes are in a different family from either quails or thrushes, but bear some superficial resemblance to them. The genus is found in Australia and New Guinea in a variety of habitats ranging from rainforest to deserts.
Taxonomy The genus Cinclosoma was introduced in 1827 by the naturalists Nicholas Vigors and Thomas Horsfield to accommodate a single species, Turdus punctatus Latham 1801, which becomes the type species by monotypy For the publication date see: This is a junior synonym of Turdus punctatus Shaw, 1794, the spotted quail-thrush. The genus name combines the Modern Latin cinclus meaning "thrush" with the Ancient Greek κιγκλος/kinklos, an unidentified tail-wagging waterside bird.
The genus is closely related to the jewel-babblers of New Guinea. A molecular study published in 2015 by Gaynor Dolman and Leo Joseph resulted in the splitting of the chestnut-backed quail-thrush into the chestnut quail-thrush of eastern Australia and the copperback quail-thrush in the west.
Species
The genus contains eight species: Image Common Name Scientific name Distribution Painted quail-thrush Cinclosoma ajax New Guinea Spotted quail-thrush Cinclosoma punctatum central-east and southeast Australia and Tasmania Copperback quail-thrush Cinclosoma clarum central-west to central-south Australia Chestnut quail-thrush Cinclosoma castanotum southeastern Australia (Yorke Peninsula, southern Flinders Ranges, eastern Mount Lofty Range, northwestern Victoria, and southwestern New South Wales Chestnut-breasted quail-thrush Cinclosoma castaneothorax east-central Australia (south-central Queensland and northwestern New South Wales) Western quail-thrush Cinclosoma marginatum west-central Australia (Pilbara region southward to Southern Cross, eastward to southwestern Northern Territory) Nullarbor quail-thrush Cinclosoma alisteri south-central Australia (Nullarbor Plain) Cinnamon quail-thrush Cinclosoma cinnamomeum central and central-south Australia
References
Further reading Del Hoyo, J.; Elliot, A. & Christie D. (editors). (2007). Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 12: Picathartes to Tits and Chickadees. Lynx Edicions.