''Thamnolaea'' is a small
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
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 ...
, consisting of two closely related species. They are native to
sub-Saharan Africa, where they occur in monogamous, territorial pairs along lightly wooded escarpments, on inselbergs and in craggy areas. They habitually lift and fan the tail, and have squeaky and fluty calls. They also duet or mimic other bird species. Nesting is undertaken in early summer, and their own nesting material is often placed in the old mud pellet nests of ''
Cecropis
''Cecropis'' is a genus of large swallows found in Africa and tropical Asia. The red-rumped swallow's range also extends into southern Europe, and (in small numbers) into Australia. This genus is frequently subsumed into the larger genus ''Hirund ...
'' swallows. A clutch of typically three brown-speckled eggs is hatched by the female only.
Geographic plumage variations are evident in both species. The similarly plumaged ''
Monticola semirufus'' is no longer included in the genus.
Species
The genus contains the following species:
References
Bird genera
{{Muscicapidae-stub