The figbirds are a 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...

 (Sphecotheres) of oriole

Oriole

Orioles are colourful Old World passerine birds in the genus Oriolus, the namesake of the corvoidean family Oriolidae. They are not related to the New World orioles, which are icterids and, belonging to the superfamily Passeroidea songbirds, are quite unrelated to the true orioles.The orioles are...

s found in wooded habitats in Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...

 and the Lesser Sundas. The three species have been considered conspecific, but today all major authorities consider them as separate species. The split is primarily based on differences in measurements and plumage

Plumage

Plumage refers both to the layer of feathers that cover a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage vary between species and subspecies and can also vary between different age classes, sexes, and season. Within species there can also be a...

, and on biogeography

Biogeography

Biogeography is the study of the distribution of species , organisms, and ecosystems in space and through geological time. Organisms and biological communities vary in a highly regular fashion along geographic gradients of latitude, elevation, isolation and habitat area...

. Compared to the "typical" orioles of the genus Oriolus, the figbirds are more frugivorous (though they also take some small insects, nectar and seeds) and gregarious, even breeding in small, loose colonies

Bird colony

A bird colony is a large congregation of individuals of one or more species of bird that nest or roost in close proximity at a particular location. Many kinds of birds are known to congregate in groups of varying size; a congregation of nesting birds is called a breeding colony...

 (at least the Australasian Figbird; nesting habits still unknown for the remaining). They are strongly sexually dimorphic, with males having olive-green upperparts, a black head, and (uniquely for the family) distinct bright red facial skin. Females are drab-coloured, being dull brownish above, and white below with strong dark streaking. They have greyish facial skin, and a greyish-black bill.

Species

Species in the genus Sphecotheres listed in taxonomic order:

• Timor Figbird
  Timor Figbird
  The Timor Figbird is a monotypic species of bird in the Oriolidae family. It is endemic to forest, woodland, mangrove and scrub on the south-east Asian islands of Timor and Roti. It is moderately common, and therefore considered to be of Least Concern by BirdLife International and IUCN...
  
  , Sphecotheres viridis.
• Wetar Figbird
  Wetar Figbird
  The Wetar Figbird is a monotypic species of bird in the Oriolidae family. It is endemic to forest, woodland and scrub on the Indonesian island of Wetar. It remains very poorly known, but is possibly threatened by habitat loss, resulting in it being listed as Near Threatened by BirdLife...
  
  , Sphecotheres hypoleucus
• Australasian Figbird
  Australasian Figbird
  The Australasian Figbird is a conspicuous medium-sized passerine bird native to a wide range of wooded habitats in northern and eastern Australia, southern Papua New Guinea, and the Kai Islands in Indonesia. It was formerly considered a subspecies of S...
  
  , Sphecotheres vieilloti
  • Yellow Figbird, Sphecotheres (vieilloti) flaviventris
  • Green/Southern Figbird, Sphecotheres (vieilloti) vieilloti