''Lessonia'' is a genus of South American birds in the

tyrant flycatcher The tyrant flycatchers (Tyrannidae) are a family of passerine birds which occur throughout North and South America. They are considered the largest family of birds known to exist in the world, with more than 400 species. They are the most dive ...

family, found near freshwater

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

s and saline

marsh A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at ...

es. The genus was erected by the English naturalist William Swainson in 1832 with the

Austral negrito The austral negrito or Patagonian negrito (''Lessonia rufa'') is a species of bird in the family Tyrannidae. It breeds in Argentina and Chile, migrating north as far as Bolivia, southern Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. It is a vagrant to the Falkl ...

(''Lessonia rufa'') as 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 was chosen to honour the French Navy surgeon and naturalist

René Lesson René-Primevère Lesson (20 March 1794 – 28 April 1849) was a French surgeon, naturalist, ornithologist, and herpetologist. Biography Lesson was born at Rochefort, and entered the Naval Medical School in Rochefort at the age of sixteen. He ...

(1794–1849).

Species

The genus contains two species:

References

Bird genera {{Passeri-stub