''Batis'' (pronounced BAT-iss) is a genus of

passerine A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped'), which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines are distinguished from other orders of birds by t ...

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

s in the

wattle-eye Platysteiridae is a family of small, stout passerine birds of the African tropics. The family contains the wattle-eyes, batises and shrike-flycatchers. They were previously classed as a subfamily of the Old World flycatchers, Muscicapidae. Thes ...

family. Its species are resident in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

south of the

Sahara , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...

. They were previously classed as a subfamily of the

Old World flycatcher The Old World flycatchers are a large family, the Muscicapidae, of small passerine birds restricted to the Old World (Europe, Africa and Asia), with the exception of several vagrants and two species, Bluethroat (''Luscinia svecica)'' and Norther ...

family, Muscicapidae. They are small stout insect-eating birds, usually found in open forests or bush. The nest is a small neat cup low in a tree or bush. They hunt by flycatching, or by taking prey from the ground like a shrike. ''Batis'' species are strikingly patterned, typically with a grey crown, black eye mask, dark back, and paler underparts, often with a coloured or black breast band and white on the throat which contrasts strongly with the black eye stripe. Male and female plumages usually differ. The song is typically a descending triple whistle.

Taxonomy

The

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

''Batis'' was introduced by the German zoologist

Friedrich Boie Friedrich Boie (4 June 1789 – 3 March 1870) was a German entomologist, herpetologist, ornithologist, and lawyer.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University ...

in 1833. The

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...

was subsequently designated as the

Cape batis The Cape batis (''Batis capensis'') is a small, stout insect-eating passerine bird in the wattle-eye family. It is endemic to the Afromontane forests of southern Africa. Taxonomy In 1760 the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson included a ...

. The name of the genus is from the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...

''batis'', ''batidos'', an unidentified worm-eating bird mentioned by

Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...

. The genus contains 20 species. *

Rwenzori batis The Rwenzori batis (''Batis diops'') is an endemic bird native to the Albertine Rift montane forests, where it inhabits altitudes of . Description The Rwenzori batis is a small, active black and white Old World flycatcher. The upperparts are d ...

, ''Batis diops'' *

Margaret's batis Margaret's batis (''Batis margaritae'') or Boulton's batis, is a species of small passerine bird in the wattle-eyes family, Platysteiridae. It is found in south western central Africa. Taxonomy Margaret's batis was described by the American zool ...

, ''Batis margaritae'' *

Forest batis The forest batis or short-tailed batis (''Batis mixta'') is a species of bird in the wattle-eye family, Platysteiridae occurring in eastern Africa. Taxonomy The forest batis was described by the English ornithologist George Ernest Shelley in 188 ...

, ''Batis mixta'' *

Reichenow's batis Reichenow's batis (''Batis reichenowi'') is a passerine bird in the wattle-eye family, Platysteiridae occurring in southeast Tanzania in east Africa. It was formerly treated as a subspecies of the forest batis. Taxonomy Reichenow's batis was d ...

, ''Batis reichenowi'' *

Dark batis The dark batis (''Batis crypta'') is a small passerine bird belonging to the genus '' Batis'' in the wattle-eye family, Platysteiridae. It is found in highland forest in south-west Tanzania, northern Malawi, and northern Mozambique. These birds w ...

, ''Batis crypta'' *

, ''Batis capensis'' *

Woodwards's batis Woodwards's batis or the Zululand batis (''Batis fratrum'') is a species of small bird in the wattle-eyes family, Platysteiridae. It occurs in southeastern Africa where it is found in woodlands and forests. Taxonomy A description of Woodwards's ...

, ''Batis fratrum'' *

Chinspot batis The chinspot batis (''Batis molitor'') is a small songbird of the genus '' Batis'' in the family Platysteiridae which is a common and widespread species in the woodlands of southern Africa from the Eastern Cape north to 3°N in southern Kenya a ...

, ''Batis molitor'' *

Senegal batis The Senegal batis (''Batis senegalensis'') is a species of small passerine bird in the wattle-eyes family, Platysteiridae. It occurs in western Africa where it is found in dry savanna and subtropical or tropical dry shrubland. It was originally ...

, ''Batis senegalensis'' * Grey-headed batis, ''Batis orientalis'' * Pale batis, ''Batis soror'' * Pririt batis, ''Batis pririt'' *

Eastern black-headed batis The eastern black-headed batis (''Batis minor'') is a passerine bird in the family Platysteiridae from eastern Africa. It was formerly treated as conspecific with the western black-headed batis. Taxonomy The eastern black-headed batis was desc ...

, ''Batis minor'' *

Western black-headed batis The western black-headed batis (''Batis erlangeri'') or Von Erlanger's batis, is a species of passerine bird in the wattle-eye family Platysteiridae.Louette, M. (2019)"Western Black-headed Batis (''Batis erlangeri'')" In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A ...

, ''Batis erlangeri'' *

Pygmy batis The pygmy batis (''Batis perkeo'') is a very small insectivorous bird which finds its food foraging among leaves, it is a member of the wattle-eyes family, the Platysteiridae. It occurs in the dry savannahs of north-eastern Africa. Description ...

, ''Batis perkeo'' *

Angola batis The Angola batis (''Batis minulla'') is a species of bird in the family Platysteiridae. It is found in western central Africa. Description The Angola batis is a small pied songbird with a rather dumpy appearance and a restless nature. The adult ...

, ''Batis minulla'' *

Gabon batis The Gabon batis (''Batis minima'') or Verreaux's batis, is a species of small bird in the family Platysteiridae. It occurs in the humid forests of western Central Africa. Description The adult male has a velvety black head with a white loral spo ...

, ''Batis minima'' *

Ituri batis The Ituri batis or Chapin's batis (''Batis ituriensis'') is a species of bird in the wattle-eye family, Platysteiridae which is found in the humid forests of eastern central Africa. Description The Ituri batis is a very small black and white bir ...

, ''Batis ituriensis'' *

West African batis The West African batis (''Batis occulta'') is a species of bird in the family Platysteiridae. It is found in Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leo ...

, ''Batis occulta'' *

Fernando Po batis The Fernando Pó batis, also known as the Bioko batis, (''Batis poensis'') is a species of bird in the family Platysteiridae. It is endemic to the island of Bioko in Equatorial Guinea. Description The Fernando Pó batis is small, restless flyca ...

, ''Batis poensis''

References

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q3291163 Platysteiridae Bird genera