''Batis'' (bird)
| Batis | |
|---|---|
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| Woodward's batis, Batis fratrum | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Platysteiridae |
| Genus: | Batis F. Boie, 1833 |
| species | |
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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.
Species in taxonomic order
- Margaret's batis, Batis margaritae
- Forest batis, Batis mixta
- Dark batis, Batis crypta
- Ruwenzori batis, Batis diops
- Cape batis, Batis capensis
- Woodward's batis, Batis fratrum
- Chinspot batis, Batis molitor
- Pale batis, Batis soror
- Pririt batis, Batis pririt
- Senegal batis, Batis senegalensis
- Grey-headed batis, Batis orientalis
- Black-headed batis, Batis minor
- Eastern black-headed batis, Batis minor minor
- Western black-headed batis, Batis minor erlangeri
- Pygmy batis, Batis perkeo
- Gabon batis, Batis minima
- Ituri batis, Batis ituriensis
- Fernando Po batis, Batis poensis
- West African batis, Batis occulta
- Angolan batis, Batis minulla
References
- Fjeldså, Jon; Bowie, Rauri C. K. & Kiure, Jacob (2006) The forest batis, Batis mixta, is two species: description of a new, narrowly distributed Batis species in the Eastern Arc biodiversity hotspot., Journal of Ornithology, 147 (4): 578-590.
- Ian Sinclair, Phil Hockey and Warwick Tarboton, SASOL Birds of Southern Africa (Struik 2002) ISBN 1-86872-721-1