''Calliope'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

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 th ...

birds in the Old World flycatcher family

Muscicapidae 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 Northe ...

. The

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

were previously placed in the genus ''

Luscinia ''Luscinia '' is a genus of smallish passerine birds, containing the nightingales and relatives. Formerly classed as members of the thrush family Turdidae, they are now considered to be Old World flycatchers (Muscicapidae) of the chat subfamily ...

''. A large molecular phylogenetic study published in 2010 found that ''Luscinia'' as defined in 2003 by Edward C. Dickinson was not monophyletic. The genus ''Calliope'', with 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 specime ...

, ''Calliope calliope'', was reinstated to accommodate a well-defined clade. Although the blackthroat (''Calliope obscura'') had not been included in the 2010 phylogenetic analysis, a subsequent study found that the firethroat and the blackthroat were

sister species In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and ...

and not colour morphs of the same species as some publications had previously suggested. The genus ''Calliope'' was introduced by the English ornithologist

John Gould John Gould (; 14 September 1804 – 3 February 1881) was an English ornithologist. He published a number of monographs on birds, illustrated by plates produced by his wife, Elizabeth Gould, and several other artists, including Edward Lear, ...

in 1836. ''Calliope'', from classical Greek meaning beautiful-voiced, was one of the

muse In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the ...

s in

Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities ...

and presided over eloquence and

heroic poetry An epic poem, or simply an epic, is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants. ...

. The genus contains the following five species: * Himalayan rubythroat (''Calliope pectoralis'') * Chinese rubythroat (''Calliope tschebaiewi'') - formerly considered as a subspecies of the Himalayan rubythroat * Siberian rubythroat (''Calliope calliope'') * Firethroat (''Calliope pectardens'') * Blackthroat (''Calliope obscura'')

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q16069825 Bird genera