Luscinia
| Luscinia | |
|---|---|
| |
| Adult male bluethroat (Luscinia svecica) | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Muscicapidae |
| Genus: | Luscinia T. Forster, 1817 |
| Type species | |
| Luscinia aedon[1] T. Forster, 1817
| |
| Species | |
|
Several, see text | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Luscinia is a
Turdidae, they are now considered to be Old World flycatchers (Muscicapidae) of the chat subfamily (Saxicolinae). The chats are a lineage of Old World flycatchers that has evolved convergently
to thrushes.
Taxonomy and systematics
The word Luscinia was used for nightingales and similar birds in
Etymologically, it might be derived from luscus (Latin for "half-blind", "half-understood" etc.) or clueō (Latin for "to be well-known") + (probably) Latin canō "to sing". Hence, it could be translated as "little-seen [as in the twilight] songster" or "famous songster".[2] The genus Luscinia was introduced by the English naturalist Thomas Forster in 1817. The type species is the common nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos).[3][4]
Delimitation of Luscinia versus the genus
The species currently placed in Luscinia are:[5]
- Bluethroat, Luscinia svecica
- White-bellied redstart, Luscinia phaenicuroides (previously the only species in the genus Hodgsonius)
- Thrush nightingale, Luscinia luscinia
- Common nightingale or rufous nightingale, Luscinia megarhynchos
Description
The Luscinia species are stocky small birds, 13–16 cm long with an upright stance and a moderately short frequently cocked tail. They watch for
In the two species named as nightingales, the sexes are similar. They are plain brown above, whitish below with light streaking, and have a rufous tail. In the other Luscinia species, the male is much brighter than the
Muscicapinae (e.g. red-breasted flycatcher, Ficedula parva). The songs of this genus are often complex and musical, especially in the "typical" nightingales.[7]
They are birds of
temperate regions, and many of the birds in this genus are strongly migratory, wintering in tropical Africa, India or Southeast Asia.[7]
The breeding habitat is typically scrub or forest, and their cup nest is usually constructed low in a bush. The birds can be difficult to see in dense undergrowth, especially if not singing, but they may frequent somewhat more open habitats in their winter quarters.[7]
Fossil record
Late Pliocene fossil from Rębielice Królewskie (Poland), of Piacenzian age (around 3 Ma), could be an ancestral bluethroat. A supposed Sylvia warbler fossil from the late Gelasian of Bad Deutsch-Altenburg (Austria), about 2 Ma old, may be of a Luscinia instead; due to its recent age it probably belongs to a living species or its immediate ancestor.[8]
Luscinia denesi (Late Miocene of Polgardi, Hungary) [9]
Luscinia pliocaenica (Pliocene of Beremend, Hungary) [9]
References
- ^ "Muscicapidae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-07-15.
- ^ Lewis & Short (1879), Glare (1968-1982)
- ^ Mayr, Ernst; Paynter, Raymond A. Jr. (1964). Check-list of Birds of the World. Volume 10. Vol. 10. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 32.
- ^ Forster, T. (1817). A synoptical catalogue of British birds; intended to identify the species mentioned by different names in several catalogues already extant. Forming a book of reference to Observations on British ornithology. London: Nichols, son, and Bentley. p. 14.
- ^ a b Gill, Frank; Donsker, David, eds. (2016). "Chats, Old World flycatchers". World Bird List Version 6.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
- PMID 20656044.
- ^ a b c d Grimmett et al. (1999), Svensson et al. (1999)
- ^ Hír et al. (2001), Mlíkovský (2002)
- ^ a b Kessler, E. 2013. Neogene songbirds (Aves, Passeriformes) from Hungary. – Hantkeniana, Budapest, 2013, 8: 37–149.
Sources
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Luscinia.
- Glare, P. G. W. (ed.) (1968–1982): ISBN 0-19-864224-5
- Grimmett, Richard; Inskipp, Carol, Inskipp, Tim & Byers, Clive (1999): Birds of India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives. Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J. ISBN 0-691-04910-6
- Hír, János; Kókay, József; Venczel, Márton; Gál, Erika; Kessler, Eugén (2001). "Elõzetes beszámoló a felsõtárkányi "Güdör-kert" n. õslénytani lelõhelykomplex újravizsgálatáról" [A preliminary report on the revised investigation of the paleontological locality-complex "Güdör-kert" at Felsõtárkány, Northern Hungary]. Folia Historico Naturalia Musei Matraensis. 25: 41–64. Archived from the original on 2007-12-11. Retrieved 2009-05-19. [Hungarian with English abstract].
- Jønsson, Knud A.; Fjeldså, Jon (2006). "A phylogenetic supertree of oscine passerine birds (Aves: Passeri)". S2CID 85317440.
- Lewis, Charlton T. & Short, Charles (eds.) (1879): A Latin Dictionary (1st ed.). Oxford University Press, Oxford.
- Mlíkovský, Jirí (2002): Cenozoic Birds of the World (Part 1: Europe). Ninox Press, Prague.
- Seki, Shin-Ichi (2006). "The origin of the East Asian Erithacus robin, Erithacus komadori, inferred from cytochrome b sequence data". PMID 16529957.
- Svensson, Lars; Zetterström, Dan; Mullarney, Killian & Grant, Peter J. (1999): Collins Bird Guide. Harper & Collins, London. ISBN 0-00-219728-6