Polioptila
| Polioptila | |
|---|---|
| California gnatcatcher (Polioptila californica) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Polioptilidae |
| Genus: | Polioptila Sclater, PL, 1855 |
| Type species | |
| Motacilla caerulea[1] Linnaeus, 1766
| |
Polioptila is a genus of small insectivorous birds in the family Polioptilidae. They are found in North and South America.
The genus Polioptila was introduced by the English zoologist Philip Sclater in 1855. Although he listed several members, he did not specify a type species.[2] This was designated by the American ornithologist Spencer Baird in 1864 as Montacilla caerulea, Linnaeus, now the blue-grey gnatcatcher, Polioptila caerulea.[3][4] The name of the genus combines the Ancient Greek words πολιος polios "grey" and πτιλον ptilon "plumage".[5]
The genus contains 16 species:[6]
| Image | Common name | Scientific name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| - | Guianan gnatcatcher | Polioptila guianensis | Guiana Shield |
| Slate-throated gnatcatcher | Polioptila schistaceigula | Chocó–Magdalena | |
| - | Para gnatcatcher | Polioptila paraensis | southern Amazonia |
| - | Iquitos gnatcatcher | Polioptila clementsi | Allpahuayo-Mishana National Reserve (Peru) |
| Marañón gnatcatcher | Polioptila maior | Marañón valley | |
| Tropical gnatcatcher | Polioptila plumbea | Central and northern South America | |
| Creamy-bellied gnatcatcher | Polioptila lactea | southern Atlantic Forest | |
| Masked gnatcatcher | Polioptila dumicola | central/eastern South America | |
| Cuban gnatcatcher | Polioptila lembeyei | coastal Cuba | |
| Yucatan gnatcatcher | Polioptila albiventris | northern Yucatán Peninsula | |
| White-browed gnatcatcher | Polioptila bilineata | southern Mexico to central Peru | |
| Blue-grey gnatcatcher | Polioptila caerulea | central/southern North America | |
| Black-tailed gnatcatcher | Polioptila melanura | deserts of southwestern US and northern Mexico | |
| California gnatcatcher | Polioptila californica | Baja California peninsula | |
| Black-capped gnatcatcher | Polioptila nigriceps | western Mexico | |
| White-lored gnatcatcher | Polioptila albiloris | southwestern Mexico and Central America |
References
- ^ "Polioptilidae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-07-15.
- ^ Sclater, P.L. (1855). "On the genus Culicivora of Swainson, and its component species". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. 23: 11–12.
- ^ Baird, Spencer Fullerton (1864). Review of American birds, in the Museum of the Smithsonian Institution. Vol. Part 1, North and Middle America. Washington: Smithsonian Institution. p. 67.
- ^ Mayr, Ernst; Paynter, Raymond A. Jr, eds. (1964). Check-list of Birds of the World. Vol. 10. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 448.
- ^ Jobling, J.A. (2019). del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Sargatal, J.; Christie, D.A.; de Juana, E. (eds.). "Key to Scientific Names in Ornithology". Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
- ^ AviList Core Team. 2025. AviList: The Global Avian Checklist, v2025. https://doi.org/10.2173/avilist.v2025