Anairetes

Anairetes
Tufted tit-tyrant (Anairetes parulus)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Tyrannidae
Genus: Anairetes
Reichenbach, 1850
Type species
Muscicapa parulus[1]
von Kittlitz, 1830
Species

6, see text

Anairetes is a genus containing the tit-tyrants, a group of small, mainly Andean birds, in the tyrant flycatcher family Tyrannidae. The group briefly included the genus Uromyias, which had been recognized based on syringeal and plumage characters, including a flatter crest and a longer tail, but was included within Anairetes due to genetic analysis.[2][3] Recent analyses suggested splitting into Uromyias again.[4] Anairetes is believed to be most closely related to the genera Mecocerculus and Serpophaga; however, there is no definitive evidence supporting this claim.[5]

They are fairly small birds (11–14 cm) that get their common name from the tit family, due to their energetic tit-like dispositions and appearance, primarily in their crests.[2] Species in this genus live in temperate or arid scrub habitats and are mainly found in the Andes mountains.[2] It is one of only a few genera of small flycatchers that occur at such high altitudes.[6]

  1. ^ "Tyrannidae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
  2. ^ a b c del Hoyo 2004, p. 177
  3. ^ Remsen, J. V., Jr., C. D. Cadena, A. Jaramillo, M. Nores, J. F. Pacheco, M. B. Robbins, T. S. Schulenberg, F. G. Stiles, D. F. Stotz, & K. J. Zimmer. 2007. A classification of the bird species of South America. Archived 2009-03-02 at the Wayback Machine American Ornithologists' Union. Accessed 12 December 2007.
  4. ^ DuBay, S.G., Witt, C.C. 2012. An improved phylogeny of the Andean tit-tyrants (Aves, Tyrannidae): More characters trump sophisticated analyses. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 64, 285-296.
  5. ^ del Hoyo 2004, p. 176
  6. ^ del Hoyo 2004, p. 190