Old World flycatcher

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This article is about the old world flycatcher family Muscicapidae. For the new world Tyrant Flycatcher family Tyrannidae, see Tyrant flycatcher. For other uses, see Flycatcher.

Old World flycatchers
White-eyed slaty flycatcher,
(Melaenornis fischeri)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Superfamily: Muscicapoidea
Family: Muscicapidae
Fleming J., 1822
Genera

See text

The Old World flycatchers are a large family, the Muscicapidae, of small

genera
.

Taxonomy

The name Muscicapa for the family was introduced by the Scottish naturalist John Fleming in 1822.[1][2] The word had earlier been used for the genus Muscicapa by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760.[3] Muscicapa comes from the Latin musca meaning a fly and capere to catch.[4][5]

In 1910 the German ornithologist

American Ornithologists' Union chose to treat the thrushes as a separate family in the seventh edition of their Check-list of North American birds and subsequently most authors have followed their example.[13][14]

Genera

The family formerly included fewer species. At the time of the publication of the third edition of

molecular phylogenetic studies have shown that the species in these four genera are more closely related to species in Muscicapidae.[16][17] As a consequence, these four genera are now placed here.[13][18] In contrast, the genus Cochoa which was previously placed in Muscicapidae has been shown to belong in Turdidae.[16][17]

Two large

non-monophyletic. The authors were unable to propose revised genera as not all the species were sampled and not all the nodes in their phylogenies were strongly supported.[17][19] A subsequent study published in 2016, that included 37 of the 42 Muscicapini species, confirmed that the genera were non-monophyletic and proposed a reorganised arrangement of the species with several new or resurrected genera.[20]

Madagascar magpie-robin Copsychus albospecularis pica
Silverbird, monotypic genus Empidornis
Tickell's blue flycatcher
, genus Cyornis
Amber mountain rock thrush Monticola sharpei erythronotus
European stonechat Saxicola torquatus
Cyprus wheatear Oenanthe cypriaca

The International Ornithologists' Union recognises 351 species and divides the family into 54 genera. Subdivisions have been proposed by Sangster et al (2010).[13][17] For a complete list of species, see "List of Old World flycatcher species".

Family Muscicapidae

  • Subfamily Muscicapinae (Fleming, 1822)
    • Tribe Copsychini (Sundevall, 1872)
      • Alethe – alethes
      • Cercotrichas
         – scrub robins
      • Copsychus
         – magpie-robins or shamas
    • Tribe Muscicapini (Fleming, 1822)
  • Subfamily Niltavinae (Sangster, Alström, Forsmark and Olsson, 2010)[21][a]
  • Subfamily Erithacinae (G.R. Gray, 1846) – African forest robin assemblage[b]
    • Erithacus – single species: European robin
    • Swynnertonia
       – single species: Swynnerton's robin
    • Pogonocichla
       – single species: white-starred robin
    • Stiphrornis
       – single species: forest robin
    • Cossyphicula – robin-chats
    • Chamaetylas – (4 species)
    • Cossypha – robin-chats
    • Cichladusa
       – palm thrushes
    • Xenocopsychus – single species: Angola cave chat
    • Dessonornis – robin-chats
    • Sheppardia
       – akalats
  • Subfamily
    Saxicolinae (Vigors
    , 1825)
    • Irania
       – single species: white-throated robin
    • Luscinia – nightingales and relatives
    • Myiomela – robins
    • Calliope – rubythroats
    • Enicurus
       – forktails
    • Cinclidium
       – single species: blue-fronted robin
    • Myophonus
       – whistling thrushes
    • Heinrichia
       – single species: great shortwing
    • Vauriella
    • Leonardina
       – single species: Bagobo babbler
    • Brachypteryx – shortwings
    • Larvivora – East and South-East Asian robins
    • Ficedula – flycatchers
    • Tarsiger – bush robins and bluetails
    • Heteroxenicus
       – single species: Gould's shortwing
    • Phoenicurus – redstarts
    • Monticola
       – rock thrushes
    • Saxicola – stonechats and chats
    • Campicoloides
       – single species: buff-streaked chat
    • Emarginata
    • Pinarochroa
       – single species: moorland chat
    • Thamnolaea – cliff chats
    • Myrmecocichla – chats
    • Oenanthe
       – wheatears

The

International Ornithological Committee (IOC).[13]

Muscicapidae
Muscicapinae
Copsychini

Alethe
– alethes (2 species)

Cercotrichas
– scrub robins (c. 5 species) Zhao et al. (2023) resurrect genus Tychaedon

Cercotrichas
– scrub robins (c. 5 species)

Copsychus
– magpie-robins, sharmas (13 species)

Muscicapini

Vauriella goodfellowi
– slaty-backed jungle flycatcher (position uncertain)

Agricola – flycatchers (2 species)

Fraseria – flycatchers (8 species)

Melaenornis – flycatchers (7 species)

Namibornis
– herero chat

Empidornis
– silverbird

Sigelus
– fiscal flycatcher

Bradornis – flycatchers (6 species)

Humblotia
– Humblot's flycatcher

Niltavinae

Leucoptilon
– white-tailed flycatcher

Sholicola – blue robins (2 species)

Niltava – niltavas (7 species)

Cyanoptila – flycatchers (2 species)

Eumyias – flycatchers (6 species)

Anthipes – flycatchers (2 species)

Cyornis – blue flycatchers, jungle flycatchers (36 species) many taxa unsampled

Cossyphinae

Erithacus – European robin

Swynnertonia
– Swynnerton's robin

Pogonocichla
– white-starred robin

Stiphrornis
– forest robin (position uncertain)

Cossyphicula – robin-chats (2 species)

Chamaetylas – alethes (4 species)

Cossypha - robin-chats (8 species)

Cossypha cyanocampter
– blue-shouldered robin-chat (position uncertain)

Cichladusa
– palm thrushes (3 species)

Xenocopsychus
– Angola cave chat

Dessonornis – robin-chats, ground robins (4 species)

Sheppardia
– akalats (11 species)

Saxicolinae

Irania
– white-throated robin

Luscinia – nightingales, redstart, bluethroat (4 species)

Calliope – rubythroats (5 species)

Enicurus
– forktails (8 species)

Cinclidium
– blue-fronted robin

Myophonus
– whistling thrushes (9 species)

Myiomela – robins (3 species)

Heinrichia
– great shortwing

Leonardina
– Bagobo babbler

Brachypteryx – shortwings (6 species)

Larvivora – robins (6 species)

Ficedula – flycatchers (34 species)

Tarsiger – bush robins, bluetails (6 species)

Heteroxenicus
– Gould's shortwing

Phoenicurus – redstarts (14 species)

Monticola
– rock thrushes (13 species)

Saxicola – bush chats, stonechats (15 species)

Campicoloides
– buff-streaked chat

Emarginata – chats (3 species)

Pinarochroa
– moorland chat

Myrmecocichla – chats (8 species) & Thamnolaea – cliff chats (2 species)

Oenanthe
– wheatears (32 species)

Description

The appearance of these birds is very varied, but they mostly have weak songs and harsh calls. They are small to medium birds, ranging from 9 to 22 cm in length.[26] Many species are dull brown in colour, but the plumage of some can be much brighter, especially in the males.[27] Most have broad, flattened bills suited to catching insects in flight, although the few ground-foraging species typically have finer bills.[28]

Old World flycatchers live in almost every environment with a suitable supply of trees, from dense forest to open scrub, and even the montane woodland of the Himalayas. The more northerly species migrate south in winter, ensuring a continuous diet of insects.[28]

Depending on the species, their nests are either well-constructed cups placed in a tree or cliff ledge, or simply lining in a pre-existing tree hole. The hole-nesting species tend to lay larger clutches, with an average of eight eggs, rather than just two to five.[28]

Notes

  1. ^ The ornithologist Dario Zuccon pointed out that when George Sangster and colleagues erected the name "Niltavinae" for the subfamily, they did not provide a description as required by the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. Sangster and colleagues subsequently published a description in 2016.[21][22]
  2. ^ Dario Zuccon has argued that the correct name for the African forest robins assemblage is Cossyphinae (type genus Cossypha Vigors, 1825) as the name predates Erithacinae (G.R. Gray, 1846).[22][24]

References

  1. ^ Fleming, John (1822). The philosophy of zoology; or a general view of the structure, functions, and classification of animals. Volume 2. Vol. 2. Edinburgh: Hurst, Robinson & Co. p. 240.
  2. hdl:2246/830
    .
  3. ^ Brisson, Mathurin Jacques (1760). Ornithologie; ou, Méthode contenant la division des oiseaux en ordres, sections, genres, espéces & leurs variétés. &c (in Latin and French). Paris: Jean-Baptiste Bauche. Vol. 1 p. 32, Vol. 2 p. 357.
  4. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4
    .
  5. Perseus Project
    .
  6. ^ Hartert, Ernst (1910). Die Vögel der paläarktischen Fauna systematische Übersicht der in Europa, Nord-Asien und der Mittelmeerregion vorkommenden Vögel. Volume 1 (in German). Vol. 1. Berlin: R. Friedländer & Sohn. p. 469.
  7. S2CID 216288554
    . Retrieved 30 May 2016.(subscription required)
  8. hdl:2246/3994
    .
  9. ^ Mayr, E.; Greenway, J.C. Jr. (1956). "Sequence of passerine families (Aves)". Breviora. 58. Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard: 1–11.
  10. ^ Mayr, E.; William, C.G., eds. (1986). Check-list of Birds of the World. Volume 11. Vol. 11. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. pp. v–vi.
  11. ISBN 978-0-300-05549-8
    .
  12. ISBN 978-07136-3940-7
    .
  13. ^ a b c d Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (July 2023). "Chats, Old World flycatchers". IOC World Bird List Version 13.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  14. ISBN 1-891276-00-X. Archived from the original
    (PDF) on 2015-11-18. Retrieved 2016-07-08.
  15. ISBN 978-0-7136-6536-9
    .
  16. ^
    PMID 14715230
    .
  17. ^
    PMID 20656044
    .
  18. ISBN 978-0-9568611-2-2
    .
  19. S2CID 85963319
    .
  20. PMID 26475615
    .
  21. ^
    PMID 27988667
    .
  22. ^ a b Zuccon, D. (2011). "Taxonomic notes on some Muscicapidae". Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club. 131 (3): 196–199.
  23. PMID 28114902
    .
  24. ^ Vigors, Nicholas Aylward (1825). "Cossyphina". Zoological Journal. 2: 395.
  25. PMID 36265831
    .
  26. ISBN 84-96553-06-X
    .
  27. ^ "Old World Flycatchers Muscicapidae". artfullbirds.com. Retrieved June 3, 2010.
  28. ^
    ISBN 1-85391-186-0
    .

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Muscicapidae.
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