Blackthroat | |
---|---|
Male, drawn by Gustav Mützel, 1891 | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Clade: | Dinosauria |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Passeriformes |
Family: | Muscicapidae |
Genus: | Calliope |
Species: | C. obscura |
Binomial name | |
Calliope obscura (Berezowski & Bianchi, 1891) | |
Synonyms | |
Luscinia obscura |
The blackthroat (Calliope obscura), also known as the black-throated robin or black-throated blue robin, is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae. It breeds in north-central China but its wintering grounds are uncertain. It has been recorded as a vagrant in northwest Thailand. Its natural habitat is bamboo thickets within coniferous forest at altitudes of 3000–3,400 metres. It is threatened by habitat loss.
The species was discovered in 1891, but for the next 120 years only a handful of individuals were seen and to date no female has been conclusively identified. So little was known of it that it earned the title " Asia's most enigmatic robin". [2]
In June 2011 a team of scientists discovered its breeding grounds in the Qinling Mountains, Shaanxi Province, north central China. Seven singing males were seen in Foping and a further seven in Changqing Nature Reserves- almost equal to the total number seen previously. [3]
In 2014 a female and breeding pair were sighted. [4]
The first formal description of the blackthroat was by the Russian ornithologists Valentin Bianchi and Mikhail Berezovski in 1891 who coined the binomial name Larvivora obscura. [5] [6] The species was later placed in the genus Luscinia but when a molecular phylogenetic study published in 2010 found that Luscinia was not monophyletic the genus was split and several species including blackthroat were moved to the reinstated genus Calliope . [7] [8]
The Japanese robin is a small passerine bird in the family Muscicapidae. This species was formerly named Erithacus akahige, or Komadori. Its range extends from the south of the Kuril and Sakhalin Islands throughout Japan.
The Siberian rubythroat is a small passerine bird first described by Peter Simon Pallas in 1776. It was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family, Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher of the family Muscicapidae. The Siberian rubythroat and similar small European species are often called chats.
The Ryukyu robin is a bird endemic to the Ryūkyū Islands, of Japan. The Okinawa robin previously was considered a subspecies.
The Old World flycatchers are a large family, the Muscicapidae, of small passerine birds restricted to the Old World, with the exception of several vagrants and two species, bluethroat and northern wheatear, found also in North America. These are mainly small arboreal insectivores, many of which, as the name implies, take their prey on the wing. The family includes 352 species and is divided into 53 genera.
The Siberian blue robin is a small passerine bird that was formerly classified as a member of the thrush family, Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to belong to the Old World flycatcher family, Muscicapidae. It and similar small European species are often called chats. Recent research suggests that this species and some other East Asian members of Luscinia should be classified in a new genus, together with the Japanese and Ryūkyū robins. The genus name Larvivora comes from the Neo-Latin larva meaning caterpillar and -vorus meaning eating, and cyane is Latin for "dark-blue".
The Indian blue robin is a small bird found in the Indian Subcontinent. Formerly considered a thrush, it is now considered one of the Old World flycatchers in the family Muscicapidae. It was earlier also called the Indian blue chat. It is migratory, breeding in the forests along the Himalayas of Nepal, India, Myanmar and Bangladesh. They winter in the hill forests of the Western Ghats of India and in Sri Lanka.
The rufous-tailed robin is a small passerine bird. Its breeding range extends from southern Siberia and the Sea of Okhotsk to southern China and southeastern Asia.
Brachypteryx is a genus of passerine birds in the family Muscicapidae containing ten species known as shortwings, that occurs in southeast Asia.
The mountain robin-chat is a species of bird in the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae.
The white-bellied redstart is a species of bird of the family Muscicapidae. It is found in Bhutan, China, India, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Thailand, and Vietnam, where its natural habitat is temperate forests.
The firethroat also known as David's rubythroat or Père David's orangethroat is a species of passerine bird in the family Muscicapidae, found in western and central parts of China. It breeds in Sichuan, China, and winters primarily in the Indian subcontinent. Its wintering range spans across Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Tibet and Myanmar. Its natural habitat is temperate forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.
The Himalayan rubythroat is a species of passerine bird in the family Muscicapidae. It is closely related to the Siberian rubythroat which however lacks the distinctive white tail-tips and white tail bases. It was also previously considered conspecific with the Chinese rubythroat, together called the white-tailed rubythroat. It is found along the Himalayan ranges from Afghanistan to Myanmar. Three subspecies are recognized across its wide range.
The rufous-headed robin is a species of passerine bird in the family Muscicapidae. It is found in central China. Its natural habitats are temperate forests and temperate shrubland. This poorly known species is thought to be threatened by habitat loss.
The brown-chested jungle flycatcher is a species of bird in the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae. It breeds in South China ; its winters in the Malay peninsula. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical mangrove forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.
The grey-chested jungle flycatcher is a species of bird in the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae. It is found in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical swamps. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Tarsiger is a genus of six species of birds in the family Muscicapidae. They are small, mostly brightly coloured insectivorous birds native to Asia and northeastern Europe; four of the six species are confined to the Sino-Himalayan mountain system. The genus has sometimes been included within the related genus Luscinia, but the species have been found to form a distinct monophyletic group.
The white-browed bush robin is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae. It is found from the Himalayas to south-central China and Taiwan. Its natural habitat is Rhododendron and conifer forests.
Calliope is a genus of passerine birds in the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae.
Larvivora is a genus of small passerine birds belonging to the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae that occur in central and eastern Asia.
The Chinese rubythroat is a small passerine bird in the family Muscicapidae. It is closely related to the Siberian rubythroat which however lacks the distinctive white tail-tips and white tail bases. It was also previously considered conspecific with the Himalayan rubythroat, together called the white-tailed rubythroat. It is found along the Himalayan ranges from Pakistan to Myanmar.