Batis (bird)

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.

Taxonomy
The genus Batis was introduced by the German zoologist Friedrich Boie in 1833. The type species was subsequently designated as the Cape batis. The name of the genus is from the Ancient Greek batis, batidos, an unidentified worm-eating bird mentioned by Aristotle.

The genus contains 21 species.


 * Rwenzori batis, Batis diops
 * Margaret's batis, Batis margaritae
 * Forest batis, Batis mixta
 * Reichenow's batis, Batis reichenowi
 * Dark batis, Batis crypta
 * Cape batis, Batis capensis
 * Malawi batis, Batis dimorpha
 * Woodwards's batis, Batis fratrum
 * Chinspot batis, Batis molitor
 * Senegal batis, Batis senegalensis
 * Grey-headed batis, Batis orientalis
 * Pale batis, Batis soror
 * Pririt batis, Batis pririt
 * Eastern black-headed batis, Batis minor
 * Western black-headed batis, Batis erlangeri
 * Pygmy batis, Batis perkeo
 * Angola batis, Batis minulla
 * Gabon batis, Batis minima
 * Ituri batis, Batis ituriensis
 * West African batis, Batis occulta
 * Fernando Po batis, Batis poensis