NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Taiwan Scimitar Babbler
Pomatorhinus musicus Swinhoe, 1859
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.
Taiwan scimitar-babbler (Pomatorhinus musicus), Shuangyu Village, Gongliao District, New Taipei, Taiwan
Charles J. Sharp · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Taiwan scimitar babbler (Pomatorhinus musicus) is a bird in the family Timaliidae, the Old World babblers. It is endemic to Taiwan. The species was first described by Robert Swinhoe in 1859. It was formerly treated as a subspecies of the streak-breasted scimitar babbler. Its population is declining, but not rapidly enough for it to be considered vulnerable.
Wikipedia contributors, Taiwan scimitar babbler; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T10:23:27.296640+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Pomatorhinus musicus Swinhoe, 1859
- Name authority
- Swinhoe, 1859
- Common name
- Taiwan 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 musicus Swinhoe, 1859
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 |
| Sri Lanka Scimitar BabblerPomatorhinus melanurus Blyth, 1847 | 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 |
| 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 |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Pomatorhinus ruficollis musicus Swinhoe, 1859 Swinhoe, 1859 | synonym |
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.
- Swinhoe, & Robert. (1859). Notes on Some New Species of Birds Found on the Island of Formosa. Journal of the North-China Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, Vol. 1, No. 2. 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.
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:4LQWY. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.