Myadestes

Myadestes
Puaiohi (M. palmeri)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Turdidae
Subfamily:	Myadestinae
Genus:	Myadestes Swainson, 1838
Type species
Myadestes genibarbis Swainson, 1838
Species
See text

Myadestes is a genus of solitaires, medium-sized mostly insectivorous birds in the thrush family, Turdidae.

They are found in the Americas and Hawaiʻi, where several island species have become extinct.

Taxonomy

The genus Myadestes was introduced in 1838 by the English naturalist William Swainson to accommodate a single species, the rufous-throated solitaire, which is therefore the type species of the genus. ^{[1] [2]} The genus name combines the Ancient Greek mua meaning "fly" and edestēs meaning "eater". ^[3]

The genus contains 13 species: ^[4]

Genus Myadestes – Swainson, 1838 – thirteen species

Common name	Scientific name and subspecies	Range	Size and ecology	IUCN status and estimated population
Brown-backed solitaire	Myadestes occidentalis Stejneger, 1882	northwest Mexico to Honduras	Size: Habitat: Diet:	LC
Slate-colored solitaire	Myadestes unicolor Sclater, PL, 1857	south Mexico to Nicaragua	Size: Habitat: Diet:	LC
Townsend's solitaire	Myadestes townsendi (Audubon, 1838)	west Canada to central Mexico	Size: Habitat: Diet:	LC
†Kamao	Myadestes myadestinus (Stejneger, 1887)	Kauai (Hawaiian Islands, extinct)	Size: Habitat: Diet:	EX
†Amaui	Myadestes woahensis (Bloxam, A, 1899)	Oahu (Hawaiian Islands, extinct)	Size: Habitat: Diet:	EX
Puaiohi	Myadestes palmeri (Rothschild, 1893)	Kauai (Hawaiian Islands)	Size: Habitat: Diet:	CR
Oloma'o	Myadestes lanaiensis (Wilson, SB, 1891)	Hawaiian Islands	Size: Habitat: Diet:	LC
ʻŌmaʻo	Myadestes obscurus (Gmelin, JF, 1789)	Hawaii (Hawaiian Islands)	Size: Habitat: Diet:	NT
Cuban solitaire	Myadestes elisabeth (Lembeye, 1850)	Cuba	Size: Habitat: Diet:	LC
Rufous-throated solitaire	Myadestes genibarbis Swainson, 1838	West Indies	Size: Habitat: Diet:	LC
Black-faced solitaire	Myadestes melanops Salvin, 1865	Costa Rica and Panama	Size: Habitat: Diet:	LC
Varied solitaire	Myadestes coloratus Nelson, 1912	Panama	Size: Habitat: Diet:	NT
Andean solitaire	Myadestes ralloides (d'Orbigny, 1840)	north Venezuela to west Bolivia	Size: Habitat: Diet:	LC

References

1. Swainson, William (1838). Flycatchers. Naturalist's Library. Edinburgh: W.H. Lizars. p. 132.
2. Mayr, Ernst; Paynter, Raymond A. Jr, eds. (1964). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 10. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 89.
3. Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 263. ISBN   978-1-4081-2501-4.
4. Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (February 2025). "Thrushes". IOC World Bird List Version 15.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 23 March 2025.