Batis (bird)
Batis (pronounced BAT-iss) is a genus of passerine birds in the wattle-eye family. Its species are resident in Africa south of the Sahara. They were previously classed as a subfamily of the Old World flycatcher family, Muscicapidae.
| Batis | |
|---|---|
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| Woodward's batis, Batis fratrum | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Platysteiridae |
| Genus: | Batis F. Boie, 1833 |
| Species | |
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See text | |
They are small stout insect-eating birds, usually found in open forests or bush. The nest is a small neat cup low in a tree or bush. They hunt by flycatching, or by taking prey from the ground like a shrike.
Batis species are strikingly patterned, typically with a grey crown, black eye mask, dark back, and paler underparts, often with a coloured or black breast band and white on the throat which contrasts strongly with the black eye stripe. Male and female plumages usually differ.
The song is typically a descending triple whistle.
Taxonomy
The genus Batis was introduced by the German zoologist Friedrich Boie in 1833.[1] The type species was subsequently designated as the Cape batis.[2] The name of the genus is from the Ancient Greek batis, batidos, an unidentified worm-eating bird mentioned by Aristotle.[3]
The genus contains 19 species.[4]
- Rwenzori batis, Batis diops
- Margaret's batis, Batis margaritae
- Forest batis, Batis mixta
- Reichenow's batis, Batis reichenowi
- Dark batis, Batis crypta
- Cape batis, Batis capensis
- Woodward's batis, Batis fratrum
- Chinspot batis, Batis molitor
- Senegal batis, Batis senegalensis
- Grey-headed batis, Batis orientalis
- Pale batis, Batis soror
- Pririt batis, Batis pririt
- Eastern black-headed batis, Batis minor
- Western black-headed batis, Batis erlangeri
- Pygmy batis, Batis perkeo
- Angolan batis, Batis minulla
- Gabon batis, Batis minima
- Ituri batis, Batis ituriensis
- Fernando Po batis, Batis poensis
- West African batis, Batis poensis occulta
References
- Boie, Friedrich (1833). "Fernere Vemertungen über Classification der Vögel". Isis von Oken (in German). 26. Col 876-884 [880].
- Mayr, Ernst; Cottrell, G. William, eds. (1986). Check-list of Birds of the World. Volume 11. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 378.
- Jobling, J.A. (2018). del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Sargatal, J.; Christie, D.A.; de Juana, E. (eds.). "Key to Scientific Names in Ornithology". Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
- Gill, Frank; Donsker, David, eds. (2018). "Batises, woodshrikes, bushshrikes, vangas". World Bird List Version 8.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
- Fjeldså, Jon; Bowie, Rauri C.K.; Kiure, Jacob (2006). "The forest batis, Batis mixta, is two species: description of a new, narrowly distributed Batis species in the Eastern Arc biodiversity hotspot" (PDF). Journal of Ornithology. 147 (4): 578–590. doi:10.1007/s10336-006-0082-4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-05-17. Retrieved 2008-02-27.
- Sinclair, Ian; Hockey, Phil; Tarboton, Warwick (2002). SASOL Birds of Southern Africa. Cape Town: Struik. ISBN 1-86872-721-1.