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Callaeidae:
The small bird family Callaeidae (also named in some sources as Callaeatidae) is restricted to New Zealand. Only two species survive, one of them critically endangered. A third, the Huia became extinct early in the 20th century.
The Callaeidae are often known as wattlebirds, a term that leads to confusion, as there are other, unrelated species with this same name, notably the large Australian wattlebirds of the family Meliphagidae, which are honeyeaters.
These birds seem to be remnants of an early expansion of passerines to New Zealand. They have no close relatives expect the stitchbird, and their more distant relationship is likewise still unknown (Ewen et al., 2006). |
