Saxicola

Template:Short description Template:Automatic taxobox

Saxicola (Latin: saxum, rock + incola, dwelling in<ref name =job>Template:Cite book.</ref>), the stonechats or chats, is a genus of small passerine birds restricted to the Old World. They are insectivores occurring in open scrubland and grassland with scattered small shrubs. The genus contains 18 species, of which four are prehistoric.

Taxonomy

The genus was introduced by the German naturalist Johann Matthäus Bechstein in 1802.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The type species was subsequently designated as the European stonechat.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The name Saxicola is from Latin saxum, saxi "stone" and -cola "dweller".<ref name=hbwkey>Template:Cite web</ref>

The genus was formerly included in the thrush family Turdidae, but as with several other related genera, has now been shown to be correctly classified in the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae, in which it is most closely related to the genera Oenanthe (wheatears) and Campicoloides.<ref name=Hoyo/><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

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 Saxicola torquatus into five species, a change now widely though not yet universally accepted. With addition of mtDNA cytochrome b sequence and nDNA fingerprinting data, it was confirmed that not only the Fuerteventura and Réunion stonechats are distinct species, but that in addition, the African, Madagascar, European, Siberian and Amur stonechats are also all separate species.<ref name="Urquhart">Urquhart, E., & Bowley, A. (2002). Stonechats. A Guide to the Genus Saxicola. Christopher Helm, London. Template:ISBN.</ref><ref name=wink>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> 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.<ref name=wink/>

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.).<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Species

The following 14 species are currently accepted in Saxicola:<ref name=ioc>Template:Cite web</ref>

Common name	Scientific name	Distribution
Jerdon's bush chat	Saxicola jerdoni	Eastern Himalaya and Myanmar
Grey bush chat	Saxicola ferreus	Himalayas, southern China and Indochina
Whinchat	Saxicola rubetra	western Palearctic; winters to sub-Saharan Africa
White-browed bush chat	Saxicola macrorhynchus	northwestern India
White-bellied bush chat	Saxicola gutturalis	Timor
Pied bush chat	Saxicola caprata	south-central Asia and Indomalaya
White-throated bush chat	Saxicola insignis	mountains of western Mongolia; winters in the Terai–Duar savanna and grasslands
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
Siberian stonechat	Saxicola maurus	Siberia and eastern Alpide belt; winters to southern Asia
European stonechat	Saxicola rubicola	Europe and North Africa; winters to Middle East
Canary Islands stonechat	Saxicola dacotiae	Fuerteventura