Onychorhynchidae
Royal flycatcher
Genus of birds
The royal flycatchers are a genus, Onychorhynchus, of passerine birds that the International Ornithological Committee (IOC) places in the family Tityridae.[1]
| Royal flycatcher | |
|---|---|
| "Amazonian" tropical royal flycatcher at Apiacás, Mato Grosso state, Brasil | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Tityridae |
| Subfamily: | Oxyruncinae |
| Genus: | Onychorhynchus Fischer von Waldheim, 1810 |
The genus name Onychorhynchus comes from the Greek words ὄνυξ onyx "nail" and ρυγχος rhynkhos "bill".[2] The specific epithet of the type species, coronatus, and the common name royal flycatcher, refer to the striking, colorful crest,[3] which is seen displayed very rarely,[3] except after mating, while preening, in courtship as well as being handled.[3]
For many years the IOC and BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World (HBW) placed four species in genus Onychorhynchus.[4][5] In 2024 the IOC combined ("lumped") the northern, Amazonian, and Pacific royal flycatchers as a single species, the tropical royal flycatcher (O. coronatus), leaving the Atlantic royal flycatcher unchanged.[1]
However, the taxonomies of the genus and of the family Tityridae are unsettled. HBW retained the four-species treatment.[5] The Clements taxonomy rocognizes the same two species of royal flycatcher as the IOC. However, Clements places them, four other species, and the sharpbill (Oxyruncus cristatus) in family Oxyruncidae, rather than in Tityridae like the IOC.[6][1] The North American and South American Classification Committees of the American Ornithological Society (AOS) treat genus Onychorhynchus as having one species, the royal flycatcher (O. coronatus sensu lato), with multiple subspecies. The AOS committees place the sharpbill by itself in family Oxyruncidae, and place the royal flycatcher and the same four additional species as Clements in family Onychorhynchidae. The South American committee is seeking a proposal for reevaluation of the taxa.[7][8]
The IOC and Clements recognize these two species in genus Onychorhynchus.[1][6]
| Image | Scientific name | Common Name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Onychorhynchus coronatus | Tropical royal flycatcher | Southern Mexico through Central America, western Colombia, western Ecuador, and the Amazon Basin in northern Bolivia, eastern Peru, eastern Ecuador, eastern Colombia, Venezuela, the Guianas, and northern and western Brazil | |
| Onychorhynchus swainsoni | Atlantic royal flycatcher | Atlantic forest in southeastern Brazil | |
- Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (January 2024). "Cotingas, manakins, tityras, becards". IOC World Bird List. v 14.1. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
- Jobling, James A. (2010). Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London, UK: Christopher Helm. p. 282. ISBN 978-1-4081-3326-2. OCLC 659731768.
- Ridgely, Robert and John A. Gwynne Jr. (1989). A Guide to the Birds of Panama with Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Honduras. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0691025126.
- Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (July 2023). "Cotingas, manakins, tityras, becards". IOC World Bird List. v 13.2. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
- HBW and BirdLife International (2023). Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world. Version 8. Available at: http://datazone.birdlife.org/userfiles/file/Species/Taxonomy/HBW-BirdLife_Checklist_v8_Dec23.zip retrieved December 28, 2023
- Clements, J. F., P.C. Rasmussen, T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, A. Spencer, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2023. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2023. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/ retrieved October 28, 2023
- Chesser, R. T., S. M. Billerman, K. J. Burns, C. Cicero, J. L. Dunn, B. E. Hern ndez-Ba os, R. A. Jim nez, A. W. Kratter, N. A. Mason, P. C. Rasmussen, J. V. Remsen, Jr., and K. Winker. 2023. Check-list of North American Birds (online). American Ornithological Society. https://checklist.americanornithology.org/taxa/ retrieved August 11, 2023
- Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, G. Del-Rio, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 26 November 2023. A classification of the bird species of South America. American Ornithological Society. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm retrieved November 27, 2023