''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 ...

: ''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 n ...

of 15

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), 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 ...

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 The "Old World" is a term for Afro-Eurasia that originated in Europe , after Europeans became aware of the existence of the Americas. It is used to contrast the continents of Africa, Europe, and Asia, which were previously thought of by th ...

. They are

insectivore 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 wer ...

s occurring in open scrubland and grassland with scattered small shrubs.

Taxonomy

The genus was introduced by the German naturalist

Johann Matthäus Bechstein Johann Matthäus Bechstein (11 July 1757 – 23 February 1822) was a German naturalist, forester, ornithologist, entomologist, and herpetologist. In Great Britain, he was known for his treatise on singing birds (''Naturgeschichte der Stubenvögel ...

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 specimen( ...

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 relativ ...

. 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 flyca ...

, 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 North ...

, in which it is most closely related to the genera '' Oenanthe'' (wheatears) and ''

Campicoloides The buff-streaked chat or buff-streaked bushchat (''Campicoloides bifasciatus'') is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae. It is found in Lesotho, South Africa, and Eswatini. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry lowland gras ...

''. 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 Common stonechat is the name used for the '' Saxicola'' species ''Saxicola torquatus'' when this is treated in its broad sense. It is, however, now more widely considered to be a superspecies consisting of several related but distinct species, ...

''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 mitochondrion, mitochondria, cellular organelles within eukaryotic cells that convert chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, such as adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mit ...

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 called ...

and nDNA

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 Fuerteventura () is one of the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean, part of the North Africa region, and politically part of Spain. It is located away from the northwestern coast of Africa. The island was declared a biosphere reserve by UNES ...

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 t ...

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,

Siberian Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...

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 been ...

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

(''Saxicola rubicola)'' * Siberian stonechat (''Saxicola maurus)'' * Amur stonechat (''Saxicola stejnegeri)'' * African stonechat (''Saxicola torquatus)'' * Madagascar stonechat (''Saxicola sibilla)'' * Reunion stonechat (''Saxicola tectes)'' * White-tailed stonechat (''Saxicola leucurus)'' *

Pied bush chat The pied bush chat (''Saxicola caprata'') is a small passerine bird found ranging from West Asia and Central Asia to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. About sixteen subspecies are recognized through its wide range with many island forms ...

(''Saxicola caprata)'' *

Jerdon's bush chat Jerdon's bush chat (''Saxicola jerdoni'') is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae. The common name commemorates the surgeon-naturalist Thomas C. Jerdon. Distribution The Jerdon's bush chat has an extremely large range and is native to ...

(''Saxicola jerdoni)'' *

Grey bush chat The grey bush chat (''Saxicola ferreus'') is a species of passerine bird in the family Muscicapidae. It is found in the Himalayas, southern China, Taiwan, Nepal and mainland Southeast Asia. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist ...

(''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