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Myrmecocichla

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Myrmecocichla
Ant-eating chat
(Myrmecocichla formicivora)
Scientific classification Edit this 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.

Taxonomy

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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]

ImageCommon nameScientific nameDistribution
Anteater chatMyrmecocichla aethiopsSahel and East African montane forests
Congo moor chatMyrmecocichla tholloniCentral Africa
Ant-eating chatMyrmecocichla formicivorasouthern Africa
Mountain chatMyrmecocichla monticolasouthern Africa
Sooty chatMyrmecocichla nigracentral Africa
Rüppell's black chatMyrmecocichla melaenaEthiopian Highlands
Arnot's chatMyrmecocichla arnottiMiombo woodlands

References

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  1. ↑ "Muscicapidae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-07-15.
  2. ↑ 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.
  3. ↑ Gray, George Robert (1855). Catalogue of the Genera and Subgenera of Birds Contained in the British Museum. London: British Museum. p. 35.
  4. ↑ 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.
  5. 1 2 AviList Core Team (2025). "AviList: The Global Avian Checklist, v2025". doi:10.2173/avilist.v2025. Retrieved 8 December 2025.
  6. ↑ Jobling, James A. "Myrmecocichla". The Key to Scientific Names. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Retrieved 8 December 2025.


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