Wikipedia

Batis (bird)

Batis
Cape batis, Batis capensis
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Platysteiridae
Genus: Batis
F. Boie, 1833
Type species
Muscicapa capensis[1]
Linnaeus, 1766
Species

See text

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.

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

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The genus Batis was introduced by the German zoologist Friedrich Boie in 1833.[2] The type species was subsequently designated as the Cape batis.[3] The name of the genus is from the Ancient Greek batis, batidos, an unidentified worm-eating bird mentioned by Aristotle.[4]

The genus contains 20 species.[5]

Image Scientific name Common name Distribution
-  Batis diops Rwenzori batis Albertine Rift montane forests
  Batis margaritae Margaret's batis mount Moco (Angola),
southern DR Congo and northern Zambia
  Batis mixta Forest batis eastern Tanzania and southeastern Kenya
-  Batis crypta Dark batis Eastern Arc Mountains of Tanzania and northern Malawi
-  Batis dimorpha Malawi batis Malawi and adjacent areas
  Batis capensis Cape batis southern Afromontane
-  Batis fratrum Woodwards' batis Mozambique
  Batis molitor Chinspot batis centre/southern sub-Saharan Africa
  Batis senegalensis Senegal batis West Africa
  Batis orientalis Grey-headed batis northeastern sub-Saharan Africa
  Batis soror Pale batis sout-eastern Kenya to southern Mozambique
  Batis pririt Pririt batis southern Africa
  Batis minor Eastern black-headed batis central-northern sub-Saharan Africa
-  Batis erlangeri Western black-headed batis east Africa
  Batis perkeo Pygmy batis mainly Horn of Africa
-  Batis minulla Angola batis western Central Africa
-  Batis minima Gabon batis western Congolian rainforests
-  Batis ituriensis Ituri batis northeastern Congo Basin
-  Batis occulta West African batis Guineo-congolean region
-  Batis poensis Fernando Po batis Bioko

References

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  1. ^ "Platysteiridae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
  2. ^ Boie, Friedrich (1833). "Fernere Vemertungen über Classification der Vögel". Isis von Oken (in German). 26. Col 876-884 [880].
  3. ^ Mayr, Ernst; Cottrell, G. William, eds. (1986). Check-list of Birds of the World. Vol. 11. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 378.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (February 2025). "Batises, bushshrikes, boatbills, vangas (sensu lato)". IOC World Bird List Version 15.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 30 March 2025.