Batis (bird) explained

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.

Taxonomy

The genus Batis was introduced by the German zoologist Friedrich Boie in 1833.^[1] The type species was subsequently designated as the Cape batis.^[2] The name of the genus is from the Ancient Greek batis, batidos, an unidentified worm-eating bird mentioned by Aristotle.^[3]

The genus contains 21 species.^{[4] [5]}

• Rwenzori batis, Batis diops
• Margaret's batis, Batis margaritae
• Forest batis, Batis mixta
• Reichenow's batis, Batis reichenowi
• Dark batis, Batis crypta
• Cape batis, Batis capensis
• Malawi batis, Batis dimorpha
• Woodwards's batis, Batis fratrum
• Chinspot batis, Batis molitor
• Senegal batis, Batis senegalensis
• Grey-headed batis, Batis orientalis
• Pale batis, Batis soror
• Pririt batis, Batis pririt
• Eastern black-headed batis, Batis minor
• Western black-headed batis, Batis erlangeri
• Pygmy batis, Batis perkeo
• Angola batis, Batis minulla
• Gabon batis, Batis minima
• Ituri batis, Batis ituriensis
• West African batis, Batis occulta
• Fernando Po batis, Batis poensis

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 . 10.1007/s10336-006-0082-4 . 31793603 . 2008-02-27 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110517175734/http://www.zmuc.dk/VerWeb/Tanzanian_Vertebrates/Bird/Bird_type/Batis_crypta_95.264/95.264_Batis_crypta.pdf . 2011-05-17 . dead .
• Book: Sinclair . Ian . Hockey . Phil. Tarboton . Warwick . 2002 . SASOL Birds of Southern Africa. Cape Town . Struik . 1-86872-721-1.

Notes and References

1. Boie . Friedrich . Friedrich Boie . 1833 . Fernere Vemertungen über Classification der Vögel . Isis von Oken . 26 . Col 876-884 [880]. German .
2. Book: Mayr . Ernst . Ernst Mayr . Cottrell . G. William . 1986 . Check-list of Birds of the World . 11 . Museum of Comparative Zoology . Cambridge, Massachusetts . 378 .
3. Web site: Jobling . J.A. . 2018 . Key to Scientific Names in Ornithology . del Hoyo . J. . Elliott . A. . Sargatal . J. . Christie . D.A. . de Juana . E. . Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive . Lynx Edicions . 24 June 2018 .
4. Web site: Gill . Frank . Frank Gill (ornithologist) . Donsker . David . 2018 . Batises, woodshrikes, bushshrikes, vangas . World Bird List Version 8.1 . International Ornithologists' Union . 21 June 2018 .
5. Web site: Species Updates – IOC World Bird List. 2021-06-04. en-US.