''Saxicola'' (

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

: ''saxum'', rock + ''incola'', dwelling in.), the stonechats or chats, 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 ...

of 15

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 ...

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 th ...

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 lightweig ...

s restricted to the Old World. They are insectivores occurring in open scrubland and grassland with scattered small shrubs.

Taxonomy

The genus was introduced by the German naturalist Johann Matthäus Bechstein in 1802. 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 ...

was subsequently designated as the

European stonechat The European stonechat (''Saxicola rubicola'') is a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a subspecies of the common stonechat. Long considered a member of the thrush family, Turdidae, genetic evidence has placed it and its relat ...

. The name ''Saxicola'' is from Latin ''saxum'', ''saxi'' "stone" and ''-cola'' "dweller". The genus was formerly included in the thrush family

Turdidae The thrushes are a passerine bird family, Turdidae, with a worldwide distribution. The family was once much larger before biologists reclassified the former subfamily Saxicolinae, which includes the chats and European robins, as Old World fl ...

, but as with several other related genera, has now been shown to be correctly classified 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 ...

, in which it is most closely related to the genera '' Oenanthe'' (wheatears) and '' Campicoloides''. Genetic and behavioural evidence has also resulted in several new species being accepted in the genus in recent years, most notably the splitting of the former broad "species" common stonechat ''Saxicola torquatus'' into five species, a change now widely though not yet universally accepted. With addition of

mtDNA Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA or mDNA) is the DNA located in mitochondria, cellular organelles within eukaryotic cells that convert chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, such as adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial DNA ...

cytochrome ''b''

sequence In mathematics, a sequence is an enumerated collection of objects in which repetitions are allowed and order matters. Like a set, it contains members (also called ''elements'', or ''terms''). The number of elements (possibly infinite) is calle ...

and

nDNA Nuclear DNA (nDNA), or nuclear deoxyribonucleic acid, is the DNA contained within each cell nucleus of a eukaryotic organism. It encodes for the majority of the genome in eukaryotes, with mitochondrial DNA and plastid DNA coding for the rest. I ...

fingerprinting A fingerprint is an impression left by the friction ridges of a human finger. The recovery of partial fingerprints from a crime scene is an important method of forensic science. Moisture and grease on a finger result in fingerprints on surfac ...

data, it was confirmed that not only the Fuerteventura and

Réunion stonechat The Réunion stonechat (''Saxicola tectes'') is a species of stonechat, endemic to the island of Réunion. This small passerine bird is common in clearings and open mountain bushlands there up to 2600 metres above the sea level, including in th ...

s are distinct species, but that in addition, the African,

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

European European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...

, Siberian and Amur stonechats are also all separate species.Urquhart, E., & Bowley, A. (2002). ''Stonechats. A Guide to the Genus Saxicola''.

Christopher Helm Christopher Alexander Roger Helm (born Dundee, 1 February 1937 – 20 January 2007) was a Scottish book publisher, notably of ornithology related titles, including the '' Helm Identification Guides''. Born in Dundee, he was raised in Forfar ...

, London. . Due to confusion of subspecies allocation, the name ''S. torquatus'' was briefly used for the European species, with the African stonechat being incorrectly listed as ''S. axillaris''. Owing to misunderstandings of Latin syntax, several species have in the past been widely but incorrectly cited with feminine name endings ("''S. torquata, S. maura, S. leucura, S. ferrea''", etc.).

Species

The following 15 species are currently accepted in ''Saxicola'': *

Whinchat The whinchat (''Saxicola rubetra'') is a small migratory passerine bird breeding in Europe and western Asia and wintering in central Africa. At one time considered to be in the thrush family, Turdidae, it is now placed in the Old World flycat ...

(''Saxicola rubetra)'' * White-browed bush chat (''Saxicola macrorhynchus)'' *

White-throated bush chat The white-throated bush chat (''Saxicola insignis''), also known as Hodgson's bushchat, is an Old World flycatcher in the genus ''Saxicola''. It is IUCN Red Listed as Vulnerable by BirdLife International. In 2001, the global population has be ...

(''Saxicola insignis)'' * Canary Islands stonechat (''Saxicola dacotiae)'' *

(''Saxicola rubicola)'' *

Siberian stonechat The Siberian stonechat or Asian stonechat (''Saxicola maurus'') is a recently validated species of the Old World flycatcher family (Muscicapidae). Like the other thrush-like flycatchers, it was often placed in the Turdidae in the past. It breed ...

(''Saxicola maurus)'' * Amur stonechat (''Saxicola stejnegeri)'' *

African stonechat The African stonechat or common stonechat (''Saxicola torquatus'') is a species of the Old World flycatcher family (Muscicapidae), inhabiting sub-Saharan Africa and adjacent regions. Like the other chats, it was long assigned to the thrush f ...

(''Saxicola torquatus)'' *

Madagascar stonechat The Madagascar stonechat (''Saxicola sibilla'') is a species of stonechat, endemic to Madagascar. It is a small bird, closely similar to the African stonechat in both plumage and behaviour, but distinguished from it by the more extensive black o ...

(''Saxicola sibilla)'' * Reunion stonechat (''Saxicola tectes)'' * White-tailed stonechat (''Saxicola leucurus)'' * Pied bush chat (''Saxicola caprata)'' * Jerdon's bush chat (''Saxicola jerdoni)'' * Grey bush chat (''Saxicola ferreus)'' * White-bellied bush chat (''Saxicola gutturalis)'' Formerly included in the genus ''Saxicola'', but now treated in a separate genus: *

Splendid fairywren The splendid fairywren (''Malurus splendens'') is a passerine bird in the Australasian wren family, Maluridae. It is also known simply as the splendid wren or more colloquially in Western Australia as the blue wren. The splendid fairywren is fou ...

(as ''Saxicola splendens'') * Buff-streaked chat (as ''Saxicola bifasciatus'')

Fossil record

* ''Saxicola lambrechti'' (Late Miocene of Polgardi, Hungary) *''Saxicola baranensis'' (Pliocene of Beremend, Hungary) *''Saxicola parva'' (Pliocene of Csarnota, Hungary) *''Saxicola magna'' (Pliocene of Beremend, Hungary)

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q906092 Bird genera