| Catharus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Black-headed nightingale-thrush (Catharus mexicanus) | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Turdidae |
| Genus: | Catharus Bonaparte, 1850 |
| Type species | |
| Turdus immaculatus[1] Bonaparte, 1850 | |
The genusCatharus is an evolutionaryclade of forest-dwelling passerine birds in the familyTurdidae (thrushes), commonly known asnightingale-thrushes. The extant species are widely distributed across the Americas and are descended from a common ancestor that lived 4–6 million years ago.[2] Most of the species are shy of humans, seldom leaving the cover of dense forest vegetation, where their activities are hidden from view. Thus, many fundamental aspects of their biology and life histories are poorly known.[3][4][5]
Nightingale-thrushes are smallomnivorous songbirds that, like their sister species thewood thrush (Hylocichla mustelina), exhibit a variety ofmigratory and non-migratory habits.[2][6] Multiple species are long-distance migrants that breed in North America and "winter" in theNeotropics. The breeding range of one migratory species, thegray-cheeked thrush (C. minimus), extends into eastern Siberia. The remainder of the migratory species are restricted to the Americas, notwithstanding occasional vagrant records in Europe[7] and northeast Asia.[8] The non-migratory species are residents of theNeotropical realm.[9][10][11][12][5]
Historically, the migratory and residents were placed in two genera:Hylocichla andCatharus, respectively.[13] However, molecular studies indicate that hermit thrush (C. guttatus) is more closely related to three Neotropical species (C. occidentalis,C. gracilirostris,C. frantzii) than to the long-distance migrants which it superficially resembles.[14][6][15][2] This pattern ofhomoplasy may be the result of two independent origins of migration in the genus, and theconvergent evolution of phenotypic characters associated with migration.[6]
Thetaxonomy ofCatharus dates to the 18th century and has a confusing history resulting from multiplecryptic species, taxonomic composites, misidentified species, and other historical errors.[12][16][17] The nameCatharus, authored byCharles Lucien Bonaparte, is derived from theAncient Greekκαθαρός (katharós) meaning "pure" or "clean", and refers to the plumage of theorange-billed nightingale-thrush (C. aurantiirostris).[18]
Species delimitation inCatharus remains an active topic of study and multiple taxonomic splits have been proposed and/or adopted during the last half century, to recognize long-overlooked cryptic species. For example, evidence supporting the split ofC. frantzii andC. occidentalis was published in 1969;[12] evidence supporting the split ofC. bicknelli andC. minimus was published in 1993;[19] most recently, evidence supporting the split ofC. dryas andC. maculatus was published in 2017.[11] The sister taxaC. ustulatus andC. swainsoni have also been treated at species rank by some authors.[17][20]
The nightingale-thrushes, revered for their beautiful songs, have long been compared to thecommon nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos).Theodore Roosevelt once remarked that, "In melody, and above all in that finer, higher melody where the chords vibrate with the touch of eternal sorrow, [L. megarhynchos] cannot rank with such singers as the Wood Thrush and Hermit Thrush. The serene, ethereal beauty of the Hermit's song, rising and falling through the still evening under the archways of hoary mountain forests that have endured from time everlasting".[21] A study published in 2014 presented evidence that hermit thrush songs, like human music, tend to be constructed of frequency ratios that are expressed as simple mathematical ratios and follow the harmonic series.[22]
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| Molecular phylogeny ofCatharus based on Everson et al. (2019)[23] with updates from Halley et al. (2017) and Halley (2019) |
| Image | Scientific name | Common Name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Catharus dryas | Yellow-throated nightingale-thrush | Resident: Middle America. |
 | Catharus maculatus | Speckled nightingale-thrush (split fromC. dryas) | Resident: South America. |
.jpg) | Catharus aurantiirostris | Orange-billed nightingale-thrush | Resident: Mexico to Colombia and Brazil. |
| Catharus mexicanus | Black-headed nightingale-thrush | Resident: Mexico to Costa Rica. |
 | Catharus fuscater | Slaty-backed nightingale-thrush | Resident: Costa Rica to Bolivia. |
 | Catharus swainsoni | Swainson's thrush | Migratory: breeds in North America, winters in Central and South America. |
 | Catharus gracilirostris | Black-billed nightingale-thrush | Resident: Costa Rica and Panama. |
 | Catharus guttatus | Hermit thrush | Migratory: breeds and winters in North America. |
 | Catharus occidentalis | Russet nightingale-thrush | Resident: Mexico. |
 | Catharus frantzii | Ruddy-capped nightingale-thrush | Resident: Mexico to Panama. |
 | Catharus minimus | Gray-cheeked thrush | Migratory: breeds in North America, winters in South America |
 | Catharus bicknelli | Bicknell's thrush | Migratory: breeds in northeastern North America, winters in Hispaniola |
.jpg) | Catharus fuscescens | Veery | Migratory: breeds in North America, winters in South America |
Authority control databases: National |
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