| Saxicola | |
|---|---|
_male%2c_Beaulieu%2c_Hampshire.jpg) | |
| MaleEuropean stonechat (Saxicola rubicola) | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Muscicapidae |
| Genus: | Saxicola Bechstein, 1802 |
| Type species | |
| Motacilla rubicola Linnaeus, 1766 | |
| Species | |
See text | |
_female.jpg)
Saxicola (Latin:saxum, rock +incola, dwelling in[1]), thestonechats orchats, is agenus of 15species of smallpasserinebirds restricted to theOld World. They areinsectivores occurring in open scrubland and grassland with scattered smallshrubs.
The genus was introduced by the German naturalistJohann Matthäus Bechstein in 1802.[2] Thetype species was subsequently designated as theEuropean stonechat.[3] The nameSaxicola is from Latinsaxum,saxi "stone" and-cola "dweller".[4]
The genus was formerly included in the thrush familyTurdidae, but as with several other related genera, has now been shown to be correctly classified in the Old World flycatcher familyMuscicapidae, in which it is most closely related to the generaOenanthe (wheatears) andCampicoloides.[5][6]
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 stonechatSaxicola torquatus into five species, a change now widely though not yet universally accepted. With addition ofmtDNAcytochromebsequence andnDNAfingerprinting data, it was confirmed that not only theFuerteventura andRéunion stonechats are distinct species, but that in addition, theAfrican,Madagascar,European,Siberian andAmur stonechats are also all separate species.[7][8][9][10] Due to confusion ofsubspecies allocation, the nameS. torquatus was briefly used for the European species, with the African stonechat being incorrectly listed asS. axillaris.[8]
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.).[11]
The following 14 species are currently accepted inSaxicola:[12]
| Image | Common Name | Scientific Name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) | Jerdon's bush chat | Saxicola jerdoni | Eastern Himalaya and Myanmar |
 | Grey bush chat | Saxicola ferreus | Himalayas, southern China and Indochina |
 | Whinchat | Saxicola rubreta | western Palearctic ; winters to sub-Saharan Africa |
.jpg) | White-browed bush chat | Saxicola macrorhynchus | northwestern India |
_(8074117562).jpg) | White-bellied bush chat | Saxicola gutturalis | Timor |
male_from_nilgiris_DSC_1123.jpg) | Pied bush chat | Saxicola caprata | south-central Asia and Indomalaya |
 | White-throated bush chat | Saxicola insignis | mountains of western Mongolia ; winters in theTerai–Duar savanna and grasslands |
_(32895496601).jpg) | White-tailed stonechat | Saxicola leucurus | Indus valley, Himalayan foothills, northeast South Asia and Myanmar |
 | Amur stonechat | Saxicola stejnegeri | Manchuria, Korea and Japan ; winters to southern China and Indochina |
 | African stonechat | Saxicola torquatus | Afrotropics |
 | Réunion stonechat | Saxicola tectes | Réunion |
_male_non-breeding.jpg) | Siberian stonechat | Saxicola maurus | Siberia and easternAlpide belt ; winters to southern Asia |
 | European stonechat | Saxicola rubicola | Europe and North Africa ; winters to Middle East |
 | Canary Islands stonechat | Saxicola dacotiae | Fuerteventura |
Formerly included in the genusSaxicola, but now treated in a separate genus:
