''Bradornis'' is a

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 ...

of small

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 ...

birds in the large family Muscicapidae commonly known as 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 ...

s. They are restricted to

sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the List of sov ...

Taxonomy

The genus ''Bradornis'' was introduced in 1847 by the Scottish zoologist Andrew Smith to accommodate a single species, the

Marico flycatcher The Marico flycatcher or Mariqua flycatcher (''Bradornis mariquensis'') is a passerine bird in the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae that is found in areas of southern Africa. Taxonomy The Marico flycatcher was previously placed in the g ...

, which is therefore 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 ...

. The genus name combines 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 ...

''bradus'' meaning "slow" or "sluggish" and ''ornis'' meaning "bird". The genus ''Bradornis'' was resurrected to accommodate a clade of species from other genera based on

molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

studies published in 2016 and 2023.

Species

The genus contains six species: * Dusky-blue flycatcher, ''Bradornis comitatus'' (formerly placed in ''

Muscicapa ''Muscicapa'' is a genus of passerine birds belonging to the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae, and therein to the typical flycatchers of subfamily Muscicapinae. They are widespread across Europe, Africa and Asia with most species occur ...

'') *

African grey flycatcher The African grey flycatcher, grayish flycatcher, or large flycatcher (''Bradornis microrhynchus'') is a passerine bird in the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae that occurs in parts of East Africa. Taxonomy The African grey flycatcher wa ...

, ''Bradornis microrhynchus'' (formerly placed in ''

Melaenornis ''Melaenornis'' is a genus of small passerine birds in the large family Muscicapidae commonly known as the Old World flycatchers. They are restricted to sub-Saharan Africa. Species The genus contains the following species: * Angola slaty flycat ...

'') *

, ''Bradornis mariquensis'' (formerly placed in ''Melaenornis'') *

Böhm's flycatcher Böhm's flycatcher (''Muscicapa boehmi'') is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forests (namely the miombo woodlands). It is named after German zoologist Richard Böhm Richard Bö ...

, ''Bradornis boehmi'' (formerly placed in ''Muscicapa'') * Ussher's flycatcher, ''Bradornis ussheri'' (formerly placed in ''Muscicapa'') * Sooty flycatcher, ''Bradornis fuliginosus'' (formerly placed in ''Muscicapa'')

References

{{taxonbar, from=Q278636 Bird genera