NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Sri Lanka Scimitar Babbler
Pomatorhinus melanurus Blyth, 1847
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Sri Lanka scimitar babbler or Ceylon scimitar babbler (Pomatorhinus melanurus) is an Old World babbler. It is endemic to the island of Sri Lanka and was formerly treated as a subspecies of Indian scimitar babbler. The nominate form is found in the western part of wet hill regions of Sri Lanka, while race holdsworthi is found in the dry lowlands and eastern hills.
Wikipedia contributors, Sri Lanka scimitar babbler; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T12:43:21.093114+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Pomatorhinus melanurus Blyth, 1847
- Name authority
- Blyth, 1847
- Common name
- Sri Lanka Scimitar Babbler
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Timaliidae
- Genus
- Pomatorhinus
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyTimaliidae Vigors & Horsfield, 1827
- genusPomatorhinus Horsfield, 1821
- speciesPomatorhinus melanurus Blyth, 1847
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Pomatorhinus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Black-crowned Scimitar BabblerPomatorhinus ferruginosus Blyth, 1845 | TimaliidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Indian Scimitar BabblerPomatorhinus horsfieldii Sykes, 1832 | TimaliidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Red-billed Scimitar BabblerPomatorhinus ochraceiceps Walden, 1873 | TimaliidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Sunda Scimitar BabblerPomatorhinus bornensis Cabanis, 1851 | TimaliidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Javan Scimitar BabblerPomatorhinus montanus Horsfield, 1821 | TimaliidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Taiwan Scimitar BabblerPomatorhinus musicus Swinhoe, 1859 | TimaliidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Streak-breasted Scimitar BabblerPomatorhinus ruficollis Hodgson, 1836 | TimaliidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| White-browed Scimitar BabblerPomatorhinus schisticeps Hodgson, 1836 | TimaliidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Slender-billed Scimitar BabblerPomatorhinus superciliaris (Blyth, 1842) | TimaliidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- Blyth, & Edward. (1847). Notices and Descriptions of various New or Little Known Species of Birds. Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, Vol. 16, No. 1. Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:4LQWW. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.