The study, published in Nature, looks at the birds known as European flycatchers.These birds come in two widely recognised species: the pied flycatcher and the collared flycatcher.
dusky flycatcher (Alseonax adustus).
The ornithological literature reported several new birds, including two new flycatchers: the Mishana tyrannulet (Zimmerius villarejoi) from the white-sand forest near Iquitos, Peru, where an ongoing study had revealed the presence of at least four bird species new to science, and the Chapada flycatcher (Suiriri islerorum) from the Cerrado region of Brazil and adjacent eastern Bolivia.
The kakerori, or Rarotongan flycatcher, an attractive tiny bird unique to Rarotonga, had been reduced by the early 1990s to about 30 breeding pairs.
The main muscicapine genus is Muscicapa (including Ficedula), and the commonest species, breeding in Europe and typical of the subfamily, is the spotted flycatcher (M. striata), a 14-centimetre (5 1/2-inch) streaked grayish-brown bird of open woodlands and gardens eastward through Asia.
Found in forests from India to the Philippines is Tickell's blue flycatcher (M. tickelliae); it is blue above and red below much like an American bluebird.
Of the 10 forest species, the rail and the flycatcher were endemic to the island, while the kingfisher is a distinctive subspecies.
Formerly considered a subfamily (Paradoxornithinae) of the babbler family (Timaliidae) or a subfamily (Panurinae) of the Old World flycatcher family (Muscicapidae), they have also been raised to the family Paradoxornithidae.
The rich birdlife of the Sierra Nevada includes the Brewer blackbird, California horned lark, and pheasant of the lower valleys; the California quail, canyon wren, and roadrunner of the chaparral and foothills; mountain chickadee, spotted owl, and band-tailed pigeon in the timber zone; and goshawk and Hammond flycatcher in the upper forests.
The pied flycatcher (M. hypoleuca) breeds in Europe, northern Africa, and western Asia; the male is black and white.
Other researchers found, however, that tamarisk trees provided a decent habitat for the nests of the endangered southwestern willow flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus).
