Spelaeornis, the typical wren-babblers, is a bird genus in the Old World babbler family Timaliidae. They are found in the eastern Himalayas and Myanmar.
Taxonomy The genus Spelaeornis was introduced in 1877 by the French naturalists Armand David and Émile Oustalet. They placed two species in the genus but did not specify the type. In 1882 the English ornithologist Richard Bowdler Sharpe designated the type as Pnoepyga troglodytoides Verreaux, J, 1871, the bar-winged wren-babbler. Although the title page bears the date of 1881 this volume was not published until 1882. The genus name combines the Ancient Greek σπηλαιον/spēlaion meaning "cave" with ορνις/ornis, ορνιθος/ornithos meaning "bird".
Species The genus contains the following 8 species: Image Common name Scientific name Distribution Rufous-throated wren-babbler Spelaeornis caudatus Bhutan, India, and Nepal Mishmi wren-babbler Spelaeornis badeigularis Northeast India. Bar-winged wren-babbler Spelaeornis troglodytoides Bhutan, China, India, and Myanmar Naga wren-babbler Spelaeornis chocolatinus Nagaland and Manipur Grey-bellied wren-babbler Spelaeornis reptatus China (Yunnan), India (Arunachal Pradesh), Myanmar, and Thailand Chin Hills wren-babbler Spelaeornis oatesi India and Myanmar Pale-throated wren-babbler Spelaeornis kinneari Vietnam Tawny-breasted wren-babbler Spelaeornis longicaudatus Khasi Hills of Northeast India The spotted elachura (Elachura formosa) was at one time placed in this genus but is now assigned to its own genus Elachura and own family Elachuridae.
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