''Hemimacronyx'' is a proposed

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 ...

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

pipit The pipits are a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan genus, ''Anthus'', of small passerine birds with medium to long tails. Along with the wagtails and longclaws, the pipits make up the family (biology), family Motacillidae. The genus is wide ...

and

wagtail Wagtails are a group of passerine birds that form the genus ''Motacilla'' in the family Motacillidae. The forest wagtail belongs to the monotypic genus ''Dendronanthus'' which is closely related to ''Motacilla'' and sometimes included therein. ...

family

Motacillidae The wagtails, longclaws, and pipits are a family, Motacillidae, of small passerine birds with medium to long tails. Around 70 species occur in five genera. The longclaws are entirely restricted to the Afrotropics, and the wagtails are predominan ...

. It contains two species that are usually treated as belonging to two larger genera, ''

Macronyx The longclaws are a genus, ''Macronyx'', of small African passerine birds in the family Motacillidae. Longclaws are slender, often colorful, ground-feeding insectivores of open country. They are ground nesters, laying up to four speckled eggs. T ...

'' (in the case of

Sharpe's longclaw Sharpe's longclaw (''Macronyx sharpei'') is a passerine bird in the longclaw family Motacillidae, which also includes the pipits and wagtails. It is endemic to Kenya. It is 16–17 cm long, with upperparts heavily marked with buff and rufo ...

) and ''

Anthus The pipits are a cosmopolitan genus, ''Anthus'', of small passerine birds with medium to long tails. Along with the wagtails and longclaws, the pipits make up the family Motacillidae. The genus is widespread, occurring across most of the world, e ...

'' (in the case of

yellow-breasted pipit The yellow-breasted pipit (''Anthus chloris'') is a species of bird in the pipit and wagtail family Motacillidae. It is found in Lesotho and South Africa. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland, arable land, and ...

). The plumage of the two species is more similar to that of the

longclaw The longclaws are a genus, ''Macronyx'', of small African passerine birds in the family Motacillidae. Longclaws are slender, often colorful, ground-feeding insectivores of open country. They are ground nesters, laying up to four speckled eggs. T ...

s and the golden pipit, having brown barred backs and bright yellow breasts and throats. They are presumed to be closely related to these two groups, but the split has not been widely recognised. Both species are found in open areas of

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 ...

. They are both threatened with

extinction Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

due to human activities, principally habitat loss. *

(''Hemimacronyx sharpei'') *

Yellow-breasted pipit The yellow-breasted pipit (''Anthus chloris'') is a species of bird in the pipit and wagtail family Motacillidae. It is found in Lesotho and South Africa. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland, arable land, and ...

(''Hemimacronyx chloris'')

References

Motacillidae Bird genera {{Passeroidea-stub