The cutias are the bird

Bird

Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...

 genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 Cutia in the family

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...

 Timaliidae. These birds are found in montane forests of continental South

South Asia

South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...

 and Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...

. The name is derived from the Nepali name khatya or khutya for the type species

Type species

In biological nomenclature, a type species is both a concept and a practical system which is used in the classification and nomenclature of animals and plants. The value of a "type species" lies in the fact that it makes clear what is meant by a particular genus name. A type species is the species...

, the Himalayan Cutia

Himalayan Cutia

The Himalayan Cutia is a bird species in the family Timaliidae. Its scientific name ultimately means "the khutya from Nepal", as Cutia is derived from the Nepali name for these birds, and nipalensis is Latin for "from Nepal".This species inhabits the Himalayan region, from India to northern Thailand...

 (C. nipalensis). The cutias are related to the alcippe

Alcippe (bird)

Alcippe is a genus of birds in the Timaliidae family. It used to be a catchall for the "fulvettas", but has been recently split into 5 independent genera: Alcippe, Schoeniparus, Fulvetta, Pseudominla and Lioparus....

s and the laughingthrush

Laughingthrush

The Laughingthrushes are the genus Garrulax of the large Old World babbler family of passerine birds. They occur in tropical Asia, with the greatest number of species occurring in the Himalaya and southern China....

es.

For long, the genus was held top be monotypic

Monotypic

In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group with only one biological type. The term's usage differs slightly between botany and zoology. The term monotypic has a separate use in conservation biology, monotypic habitat, regarding species habitat conversion eliminating biodiversity and...

, containing only a single species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 C. nipalensis. This has more recently been split in two, however:

• Himalayan Cutia
  Himalayan Cutia
  The Himalayan Cutia is a bird species in the family Timaliidae. Its scientific name ultimately means "the khutya from Nepal", as Cutia is derived from the Nepali name for these birds, and nipalensis is Latin for "from Nepal".This species inhabits the Himalayan region, from India to northern Thailand...
  
  , Cutia nipalensis
• Vietnamese Cutia
  Vietnamese Cutia
  The Vietnamese Cutia is a bird species in the family Timaliidae. It is found in Laos and Vietnam.It was long considered a subspecies of the Himalayan Cutia , making the genus Cutia monotypic. In recent times, it is more often elevated to full species status.Its natural habitat is tropical moist...
  
  , Cutia legalleni