Phoenicurus | |
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Black redstart (Phoenicurus ochruros) | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Passeriformes |
Family: | Muscicapidae |
Subfamily: | Saxicolinae |
Genus: | Phoenicurus Forster, T, 1817 |
Type species | |
Phoenicurus ruticilla[1] = Motacilla phoenicurus T. Forster, 1817
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Phoenicurus is a genus of passerine birds in the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae, native to Europe, Asia and Africa. They are named redstarts from their orange-red tails ('start' is an old name for a tail). They are small insectivores, the males mostly brightly coloured in various combinations of red, blue, white, and black, the females light brown with a red tail.[2] A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2010 led to a reorganization of the Old World flycatchers family in which the two species in Rhyacornis and the single species in Chaimarrornis were merged into Phoenicurus.[3][4]
The genus Phoenicurus was introduced by the English naturalist Thomas Forster in 1817.[5] The type species (by tautonymy) is the common redstart (Phoenicurus phoenicurus).[6] The name Phoenicurus is from Ancient Greek φοινιξ (phoinix), "(Phoenician) crimson/purple" (see also Tyrian purple), and ουροσ (-ouros) -"tailed".[7]
The genus contains the following species:[4]