Treepie systematics

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Project title:

A comparative systematic study on Treepies and Oriental Magpies

ZFMK Project lead:

Gabriele Droege

Unit:

Ornithology

Object of research:

Birds

Description

Corvids (Corvidae) are a worldwide distributed bird family with about 130 species. The Southeast Asian Treepies (genera Dendrocitta, Crypsirina, Temnurus and Platysmurus) and Oriental Magpies (genera Urocissa and Cissa) that are in focus here form two distinct clades in the corvid tree. However, not much is known about them both in terms of taxonomic coverage and biological data.

Thus, the aim of this study is (1) to examine the relationships within and between the Treepies and Oriental Magpies based on morphological and molecular data; (2) to provide a detailed picture of the biogeographic and dispersal patterns of these corvids across Asia; and (3) to assess the relative roles of vicariance and dispersal in shaping corvid diversification using genotyping and haplotyping.