Saxicola (Latin: saxum, rock + incola, dwelling in.), the stonechats or chats, is a genus of small passerine birds restricted to the Old World. They are insectivores occurring in open scrubland and grassland with scattered small shrubs. The genus contains 18 species, of which four are prehistoric.
Taxonomy The genus was introduced by the German naturalist Johann Matthäus Bechstein in 1802. The type species was subsequently designated as the European stonechat. The name Saxicola is from Latin saxum, saxi "stone" and -cola "dweller".
The genus was formerly included in the thrush family Turdidae, but as with several other related genera, has now been shown to be correctly classified in the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae, in which it is most closely related to the genera Oenanthe (wheatears) and Campicoloides.
Genetic and behavioural evidence has also resulted in several new species being accepted in the genus in recent years, most notably the splitting of the former broad "species" common stonechat Saxicola torquatus into five species, a change now widely though not yet universally accepted. With addition of mtDNA cytochrome b sequence and nDNA fingerprinting data, it was confirmed that not only the Fuerteventura and Réunion stonechats are distinct species, but that in addition, the African, Madagascar, European, Siberian and Amur stonechats are also all separate species.Urquhart, E., & Bowley, A. (2002). Stonechats. A Guide to the Genus Saxicola. Christopher Helm, London. . Due to confusion of subspecies allocation, the name S. torquatus was briefly used for the European species, with the African stonechat being incorrectly listed as S. axillaris.
Owing to misunderstandings of Latin syntax, several species have in the past been widely but incorrectly cited with feminine name endings ("S. torquata, S. maura, S. leucura, S. ferrea", etc.).
Species The following 13 species are currently accepted in Saxicola:
Image Common name Scientific name Distribution Jerdon's bush chat Saxicola jerdoni Eastern Himalaya and Myanmar Grey bush chat Saxicola ferreus Himalayas, southern China and Indochina Whinchat Saxicola rubetra western Palearctic; winters to sub-Saharan Africa White-browed bush chat Saxicola macrorhynchus northwestern India White-bellied bush chat Saxicola gutturalis Timor Pied bush chat Saxicola caprata south-central Asia and Indomalaya White-throated bush chat Saxicola insignis mountains of western Mongolia;winters in the Terai–Duar savanna and grasslands White-tailed stonechat Saxicola leucurus Indus valley, Himalayan foothills, northeast South Asia and Myanmar African stonechat Saxicola torquatus Afrotropics Réunion stonechat Saxicola tectes Réunion Siberian stonechat Saxicola maurus Siberia and eastern Alpide belt; winters to southern Asia European stonechat Saxicola rubicola Europe and North Africa; winters to Middle East Canary Islands stonechat Saxicola dacotiae Fuerteventura
Formerly included in the genus Saxicola, but now treated in a separate genus: Splendid fairywren, as Saxicola splendens Buff-streaked chat, as Saxicola bifasciatus
Fossil record Saxicola lambrechti (Late Miocene of Polgardi, Hungary) Saxicola baranensis (Pliocene of Beremend, Hungary) Saxicola parva (Pliocene of Csarnota, Hungary) Saxicola magna (Pliocene of Beremend, Hungary)
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