Immaculate Wren-Babbler

About the Immaculate Wren-Babbler

The Nepal cupwing (Pnoepyga immaculata), also known as the Nepal wren-babbler or immaculate cupwing, is a small species of passerine bird in the family Pnoepygidae. It is native to Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Tibet, and Nepal. It is found in dense montane forest in the Himalayas.

The Nepal cupwing is in the genus Pnyoepyga. Its closest relatives are the scaly-breasted cupwing, Taiwan cupwing, and pygmy cupwing. It was first described by Jochen Martens and Siegfried Eck in 1991, having been identified as a separate species based on differences in voice. Genetic phylogeny suggests that it forms a clade with the pygmy cupwing. No subspecies have been described. It was formerly classified, with the other cuplings, as an Old World babbler in the family Timaliidae until 2009, when the monotypic family Pneopygidae was created for the cupwings, reflecting recent developments in molecular phylogeny.

The name "Nepal cupwing" is used by the International Ornithologist's Union and by the Handbook of the Birds of the World, while "immaculate cupwing" is used in American English and in Indian English, including The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. The name... Wikipedia →