Madagascan stonechat
| Madagascan stonechat | |
|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
| Not evaluated (IUCN 3.1) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Muscicapidae |
| Genus: | Saxicola |
| Species: | S. sibilla |
| Binomial name | |
| Saxicola sibilla (Linnaeus, 1766) | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Saxicola torquatus sibilla | |
The Madagascan stonechat or Madagascar stonechat (Saxicola sibilla) is a species of stonechat, endemic to Madagascar. It is a small bird, closely similar to the African stonechat in both plumage and behaviour, but distinguished from it by the more extensive black on the throat and minimal orange-red on the upper breast of the males.[1]
Taxonomy
The Madagascan stonechat has generally been considered a subspecies of African stonechat (as Saxicola torquatus sibilla[1]), but recent genetic evidence has shown that it is distinct, more closely related to Reunion stonechat than it is to African stonechat,[2] on which basis it is now accepted as a distinct species.[3]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Urquhart, E., & Bowley, A. (2002): Stonechats. A Guide to the Genus Saxicola. Christopher Helm, London. ISBN 0-7136-6024-4
- ↑ Woog, F., Wink, M., Rastegar-Pouyani, E., Gonzalez, J., & Helm, B. (2008). Distinct taxonomic position of the Madagascar stonechat (Saxicola torquatus sibilla) revealed by nucleotide sequences of mitochondrial DNA. J. Ornithol. 149: 423–430. Full text
- ↑ IOC World Bird List Family Muscicapidae