The forktails are small

insectivorous A robber fly eating a hoverfly An insectivore is a carnivorous animal or plant which eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which can also refer to the human practice of eating insects. The first vertebrate insectivores we ...

birds in the

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

''Enicurus''. They were formerly placed in the

thrush Thrush may refer to: Birds * Thrush (bird), any of the birds in the family Turdidae ** List of thrush species * Antthrushes, the Formicariidae family of birds * Dohrn's warbler, or Dohrn's thrush-babbler, a species ''Sylvia dohrni'' in the famil ...

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 flyca ...

, but are now treated as part of 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 north ...

. Their common name derives from their long forked tail. These are southeast

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

n forest species principally associated with mountain forests and streams. Most nest in rock crevices, laying 2–4

eggs An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo begins to develop. Egg, EGG or eggs may also refer to: Biology * Egg cell, the female reproductive cell (gamete) in oogamous organisms Food * Eggs as food Places * Egg, Austria * Egg, Switzerland ...

Taxonomy

The genus ''Enicurus'' was introduced in 1822 by the Dutch zoologist

Coenraad Jacob Temminck Coenraad Jacob Temminck (; 31 March 1778 – 30 January 1858) was a Dutch people, Dutch patrician, Zoology, zoologist and museum director. Biography Coenraad Jacob Temminck was born on 31 March 1778 in Amsterdam in the Dutch Republic. Fro ...

to accommodate ''Enicurus coronatus'', the

white-crowned forktail The white-crowned forktail (''Enicurus leschenaulti'') is a species of forktail in the family Muscicapidae. Formally described in 1818, it has five subspecies, each occupying a different geographic range. The largest of the forktails, ''Enicurus ...

, which is therefore the

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, 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 spe ...

. Temminck's epithet is considered to be a

junior synonym In taxonomy, the scientific classification of living organisms, a synonym is an alternative scientific name for the accepted scientific name of a taxon. The botanical and zoological codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently. ...

as four years earlier in 1818 Louis Vieillot had coined the

binomial name In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin grammatical forms, altho ...

''Turdus leschenaulti'' for the same species. The genus name combines the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

''henikos'' meaning "singular" with ''-ouros'' meaning "-tailed". The following cladogram showing the relationships between the species is based on a

molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

study of the Old World flycatchers published in 2023. The

Bornean forktail The Bornean forktail (''Enicurus borneensis'') is a small, black and white bird, with a long and deeply forked tail, in the Old World flycatcher family. It is endemic to the Southeast Asian island of Borneo, where it occupies streamside habitats ...

(''Enicurus borneensis'') was not included.

Species

The genus contains the following eight species: *

Little forktail The little forktail (''Enicurus scouleri'') is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae. The specific name commemorates Dr. John Scouler of Glasgow. Description The sexes are alike, with black and white plumage. Black above, with white for ...

, ''Enicurus scouleri'' *

Black-backed forktail The black-backed forktail (''Enicurus immaculatus''), occasionally referred to as the black-throated forktail, is a forktail species in the family Muscicapidae. The species was described in 1836, from a specimen collected in Nepal. It is a mediu ...

, ''Enicurus immaculatus'' *

Slaty-backed forktail The slaty-backed forktail (''Enicurus schistaceus'') is a species of forktail in the family Muscicapidae. A slim, medium-sized forktail, it is distinguished from similar species by its slate grey forehead, crown, and mantle. It has a long and de ...

, ''Enicurus schistaceus'' *

Spotted forktail The spotted forktail (''Enicurus maculatus'') is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae. It is found in the Himalayas and the hills of Northeast India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, and southern China including Yunnan. Birds of this species are 25&n ...

, ''Enicurus maculatus'' *

White-crowned forktail The white-crowned forktail (''Enicurus leschenaulti'') is a species of forktail in the family Muscicapidae. Formally described in 1818, it has five subspecies, each occupying a different geographic range. The largest of the forktails, ''Enicurus ...

, ''Enicurus leschenaulti'' *

, ''Enicurus borneensis'' *

Chestnut-naped forktail The chestnut-naped forktail (''Enicurus ruficapillus'') is a species of bird in the flycatcher and chat family Muscicapidae. The species is monotypic, having no subspecies. It is found in Sundaland, in southern Burma and Thailand to Peninsular Ma ...

, ''Enicurus ruficapillus'' *

Sunda forktail The Sunda forktail (''Enicurus velatus'') is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae. It is endemic to Indonesia, where it is restricted to the islands of Java and Sumatra. Its natural habitat is boulder strewn streams in tropical moist mont ...

, ''Enicurus velatus''

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q989763 * Birds of Asia