biology

Little shrikethrush

Little shrikethrush is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Little shrikethrush rather than just read about it. In short: The little shrikethrush or little shrike-thrush (Colluricincla megarhyncha) is a species of passerine bird in the family Pachycephalidae that is found in New Guinea as well as in north and east Australia. Taxonomy The little shrikethrush was formally described and illustrated in 1832 as Muscicapa megarhyncha by the French naturalists Jean Quoy and Joseph Gaimard based on a specimen collected near Manokwari in the Bi…

Key takeaways

Little shrikethrush belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Little shrikethrush to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Little shrikethrush from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Taxonomy The little shrikethrush was formally described and illustrated in 1832 as Muscicapa megarhyncha by the French naturalists Jean Quoy and Joseph Gaimard based on a specimen collected near Manokwari in the Bird's Head Peninsula of New Guinea. The specific epithet combines the Ancient Greek μεγα/mega meaning "much" with ῥυγχος/rhunkhos meaning "bill". The little shrikethrush is now placed in the genus Colluricincla that was introduced in 1827 by the naturalists Nicholas Vigors and Thomas Horsfield. Molecular genetic studies of New Guinea populations of the little shrikethrush indicate high levels of genetic divergence, suggesting it may comprise more than one species. With at least eight separate clades identified as potential species splits, further research may lead to the re-classification of several new species. Alternate names for the little shrikethrush include the brown shrike-flycatcher and rufous shrike-thrush. Sixteen subspecies are recognised:

C. m. megarhyncha (Quoy, JRC & Gaimard, JP, 1832) – Salawati Island (west Papuan islands), Bird's Head Peninsula to head of Cenderawasih Bay and adjacent southwestern New Guinea plain C. m. parvula Gould, J, 1845 – northwestern Australia (Kimberley region, northern Western Australia, to Calvert River, eastern Northern Territory) C. m. aruensis (Gray, GR, 1858) – Aru Islands (New Guinea) C. m. fortis (Gadow, HF, 1883) – D'Entrecasteaux Archipelago (off southeastern New Guinea) C. m. trobriandi (Hartert, EJO, 1896) – Trobriand Islands (off southeastern New Guinea) C. m. despecta (Rothschild, LW & Hartert, EJO, 1903) – Papuan Peninsula, westward in the north to the Huon Gulf and in the south to the upper Fly-Digul Rivers C. m. affinis (Gray, GR, 1862) – Waigeo (Raja Ampat Islands, off western New Guinea) C. m. obscura (Meyer, AB, 1874) – Yapen (Cenderawasih Bay, off northwestern New Guinea) C. m. hybridus (Meise, W, 1929) – northwestern and west-central New Guinea C. m. discolor De Vis, CW, 1890 – Tagula Island (Louisiade Archipelago, off southeastern New Guinea) C. m. tappenbecki Reichenow, A, 1899 – northeastern New Guinea (Astrolabe Bay to lower Sepik River) C. m. madaraszi (Rothschild, LW & Hartert, EJO, 1903) – northeastern New Guinea (Huon Peninsula) C. m. maeandrina (Stresemann, EFT, 1921) – northeastern New Guinea (upper Sepik River and Victor Emanuel Mountains) C. m. rufogaster Gould, J, 1845 – eastern Australia (Bowen, northeastern Queensland, southward to Port Macquarie, central New South Wales) C. m. normani (Mathews, GM, 1914) – southern New Guinea and northeastern Australia (western Torres Strait islands, northern Queensland from Nicholson River eastward to Normanby River catchment, Cape York Peninsula, northern Queensland) C. m. griseata (Gray, GR, 1858) – northeastern Australia (Starke to Cape Bowling Green, northeastern Queensland) The name Arafura shrikethrush was proposed in 2018 for the subspecies megarhyncha, batantae and parvula.

Distribution and habitat It is found in Australia and New Guinea. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.

Behaviour and ecology During a study of toxicity in birds, two specimens of this species were tested. One of these specimens contained traces of batrachotoxins (BTXs) similar to those found in the secretions of Central and South American poison dart frogs.

References

External links Media related to Colluricincla megarhyncha at Wikimedia Commons

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Little shrikethrush

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Little shrikethrush claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Little shrikethrush before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Little shrikethrush ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Little shrikethrush

In research: Little shrikethrush appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Little shrikethrush in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Little shrikethrush is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Birds described in 1832, Birds of New Guinea, Birds of Queensland, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Little shrikethrush outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Little shrikethrush in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Little shrikethrush means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Little shrikethrush out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Little shrikethrush in simple terms?

The little shrikethrush or little shrike-thrush (Colluricincla megarhyncha) is a species of passerine bird in the family Pachycephalidae that is found in New Guinea as well as in north and east Australia. Taxonomy The little shrikethrush was formally described and illustrated in 1832 as Muscicapa m…

Why does Little shrikethrush matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Little shrikethrush?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Little shrikethrush.