Phenetic affinities of the wood thrush, Hylocichla mustelina (Aves: Turdinae)

Abstract

A multivariate assessment of phenetic affinities among 11 North American and 2 European thrushes was carried out to characterize further the controversial systematic relationships of the wood thrush, Hylocichla mustelina. Principal components analysis based on 49 skeletal characters revealed that the wood thrush, which formed one of four distinct groups, was intermediate in a linear allometric series ranging from North American Catharus to European Turdus. These results, most similar to the pattern of relationships envisaged by Dorst, are discussed in terms of the findings and methodologies of previous studies. It is noted that the usual practice of interpreting principal components in terms of independent variation in size and shape is often an oversimplification.