Batis (bird)

Batis
Woodward's batis, Batis fratrum
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Platysteiridae
Genus:	Batis F. Boie, 1833
species
See text

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.

Species in taxonomic order

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

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.
• Ian Sinclair, Phil Hockey and Warwick Tarboton, SASOL Birds of Southern Africa (Struik 2002) ISBN 1-86872-721-1