''Polioptila'' 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
insectivorous
A robber fly eating a hoverfly
An insectivore is a carnivorous animal or plant that eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which can also refer to the human practice of eating insects.
The first vertebrate insectivores were ...
birds in the family
Polioptilidae. They are found in North and South America.
The genus ''Polioptila'' was introduced by the English zoologist
Philip Sclater
Philip Lutley Sclater (4 November 1829 – 27 June 1913) was an England, English lawyer and zoologist. In zoology, he was an expert ornithologist, and identified the main zoogeographic regions of the world. He was Secretary of the Zoological ...
in 1855. Although he listed several members, he did not specify a
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 ...
. This was designated by the American ornithologist
Spencer Baird
Spencer Fullerton Baird (; February 3, 1823 – August 19, 1887) was an American naturalist, ornithologist, ichthyologist, herpetologist, and museum curator. Baird was the first curator to be named at the Smithsonian Institution. He eventually ...
in 1864 as ''Montacilla caerulea'',
Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...
, now the
blue-grey gnatcatcher
The blue-gray gnatcatcher or blue-grey gnatcatcher (''Polioptila caerulea'') is a very small songbird native to North America. Description
It is in length, 6.3 in (16 cm) in wingspan, and weighing only . Adult males are blue-gray on the upperpa ...
, ''Polioptila caerulea''.
The name of the genus 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 ...
words ''πολιος'' ''polios'' "grey" and ''πτιλον'' "plumage".
The genus contains 17 species:
*
Rio Negro gnatcatcher, ''Polioptila facilis'' – split from ''P. guianensis''
*
Guianan gnatcatcher, ''Polioptila guianensis''
*
Slate-throated gnatcatcher
The slate-throated gnatcatcher (''Polioptila schistaceigula'') is a species of bird in the family Polioptilidae. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, and Panama.
Taxonomy and systematics
The slate-throated gnatcatcher is monotypic. It is apparen ...
, ''Polioptila schistaceigula''
*
Para gnatcatcher, ''Polioptila paraensis'' – split from ''P. guianensis''
*
Iquitos gnatcatcher
The Iquitos gnatcatcher (''Polioptila clementsi'') is a bird in the family Polioptilidae. It was first described in 2005. It is known only from the Allpahuayo-Mishana National Reserve, west of Iquitos, Peru.
Taxonomy and systematics
The ...
, ''Polioptila clementsi'' – described in 2005
*
Inambari gnatcatcher, ''Polioptila attenboroughi'' – described in 2013
*
Tropical gnatcatcher, ''Polioptila plumbea''
*
Creamy-bellied gnatcatcher, ''Polioptila lactea''
*
Masked gnatcatcher, ''Polioptila dumicola''
*
Cuban gnatcatcher, ''Polioptila lembeyei''
*
Yucatan gnatcatcher, ''Polioptila albiventris''
*
White-browed gnatcatcher
The white-browed gnatcatcher (''Polioptila bilineata'') is a species of bird in the gnatcatcher family Polioptilidae. It is native to central and South America.
This species was formerly considered a subspecies of the tropical gnatcatcher ('' ...
, ''Polioptila bilineata'' – split from ''P. plumbea''
*
Blue-grey gnatcatcher
The blue-gray gnatcatcher or blue-grey gnatcatcher (''Polioptila caerulea'') is a very small songbird native to North America. Description
It is in length, 6.3 in (16 cm) in wingspan, and weighing only . Adult males are blue-gray on the upperpa ...
, ''Polioptila caerulea''
*
Black-tailed gnatcatcher
The black-tailed gnatcatcher (''Polioptila melanura'') is a small, insectivorous bird which ranges throughout the Sonoran and Chihuahuan Deserts of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. It is nonmigratory and found in arid dese ...
, ''Polioptila melanura''
*
California gnatcatcher
The California gnatcatcher (''Polioptila californica'') is a small long insectivorous bird which frequents dense coastal sage scrub growth. This species was recently split from the similar black-tailed gnatcatcher of the Sonoran and Chihuahuan ...
, ''Polioptila californica''
*
Black-capped gnatcatcher, ''Polioptila nigriceps''
*
White-lored gnatcatcher, ''Polioptila albiloris''
References
Polioptilidae
Bird genera
Taxa named by Philip Sclater
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot
{{Polioptilidae-stub