Black redstart
| Black redstart | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Male of subspecies Phoenicurus ochruros gibraltariensis at nest, Germany | |
 |
|
| Female, Vasai, Maharashtra, India | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Muscicapidae |
| Genus: | Phoenicurus |
| Species: | P. ochruros |
| Binomial name | |
|
Phoenicurus ochruros (S. G. Gmelin, 1774) |
|
| Subspecies | |
|
5–7, see text |
|
5–7, see text
The black redstart (Phoenicurus ochruros) is a small passerine bird in the redstart genus Phoenicurus. Like its relatives, it was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family (Turdidae), but is now known to be an Old World flycatcher (Muscicapidae).
The first formal description of the black redstart was by the German naturalist Samuel Gottlieb Gmelin in 1774 under the binomial name Mottacilla ochruros. The genus Phoenicurus was introduced by the English naturalist Thomas Forster in 1817. Both parts of the scientific name are from Ancient Greek and refer to the colour of the tail. The genus name Phoenicurus is from phoinix, "red", and -ouros -"tailed", and the specific ochruros is from okhros," pale yellow" and -ouros.
The black redstart is a member of a Eurasian clade which also includes the Daurian redstart, Hodgson's redstart, the white-winged redstart, and maybe Przevalski's redstart. The present species' ancestors diverged from about 3 million years ago (mya) (Late Pliocene) onwards and spread throughout much of Eurasia from 1.5 mya onward. It is not very closely related to the common redstart. As these are separated by different behaviour and ecological requirements and have not evolved fertilisation barriers, the two European species can nonetheless produce apparently fertile and viable hybrids.
...
Wikipedia