They are found in Asia from India to China.

They belong to a clade also containing at least the Leiothrix, the barwings, the minlas and the sibias.

[2] Speciation in the group is thought to have begun with the ancestral species originating somewhere in southern China, making L. steerii the basal species.

The lineage consisting of L. ripponi and L. phoenicea are thought to have had a split in the Pleistocene (0.07–1.88 Ma) with a similar split of the other lineage leading to L. bugunorum and L. omeiensis separated by the Hengduan mountains.

[3] L. steerii L. omeiensis L. bugunorum L. phoenicea L. ripponi The genus contains five species:[4]