Myrmecocichla
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| Myrmecocichla | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Ant-eating chat (Myrmecocichla formicivora) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Muscicapidae |
| Genus: | Myrmecocichla Cabanis, 1851 |
| Type species | |
| Oenanthe formicivora[1] Vieillot, 1818 | |
Myrmecocichla is a genus of passerine birds in the Old World chat and flycatcher family Muscicapidae. Species in this genus are found in Africa.
The genus Myrmecocichla was introduced in 1851 by the German ornithologist Jean Cabanis who listed several species in the genus but did not specify the type.[2] In 1855 the English zoologist George Gray designated the type as Oenanthe formicivora Vieillot, 1818.[3] This is a junior synonym of Motacilla formicivora Wilkes, 1817, the ant-eating chat.[4][5] The genus name combines the Ancient Greek μυρμηξ/murmēx, μυρμηκος/murmēkos meaning "ant" with κιχλη/kikhlē meaning "thrush".[6]
The genus contains the following seven species:[5]
| Image | Common name | Scientific name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
_(45855335184).jpg) | Anteater chat | Myrmecocichla aethiops | Sahel and East African montane forests |
 | Congo moor chat | Myrmecocichla tholloni | Central Africa |
| Ant-eating chat | Myrmecocichla formicivora | southern Africa |
.jpg) | Mountain chat | Myrmecocichla monticola | southern Africa |
,_Masai_Mara,_Kenya_(52474969911).jpg) | Sooty chat | Myrmecocichla nigra | central Africa |
 | Rüppell's black chat | Myrmecocichla melaena | Ethiopian Highlands |
.jpg) | Arnot's chat | Myrmecocichla arnotti | Miombo woodlands |
References
- ↑ "Muscicapidae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-07-15.
- ↑ Cabanis, Jean (1850–1851). Museum Heineanum : Verzeichniss der ornithologischen Sammlung des Oberamtmann Ferdinand Heine, auf Gut St. Burchard vor Halberstadt (in German and Latin). Vol. 1. Halberstadt: R. Frantz. p. 8. For the publication date of volume 1 see: Dickinson, E.C.; Overstreet, L.K.; Dowsett, R.J.; Bruce, M.D. (2011). Priority! The Dating of Scientific Names in Ornithology: a Directory to the literature and its reviewers. Northampton, UK: Aves Press. pp. 80–81. ISBN 978-0-9568611-1-5.
- ↑ Gray, George Robert (1855). Catalogue of the Genera and Subgenera of Birds Contained in the British Museum. London: British Museum. p. 35.
- ↑ Mayr, Ernst; Paynter, Raymond A. Jr, eds. (1964). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 10. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 115.
- 1 2 AviList Core Team (2025). "AviList: The Global Avian Checklist, v2025". doi:10.2173/avilist.v2025. Retrieved 8 December 2025.
- ↑ Jobling, James A. "Myrmecocichla". The Key to Scientific Names. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Retrieved 8 December 2025.
| Myrmecocichla | |
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