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.

Batis
Woodwards's batis, Batis fratrum
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Platysteiridae
Genus:	Batis F. Boie, 1833
Type species
Muscicapa capensis[1] Linnaeus, 1766
Species
See text

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.^[2] The type species was subsequently designated as the Cape batis.^[3] The name of the genus is from the Ancient Greek batis, batidos, an unidentified worm-eating bird mentioned by Aristotle.^[4]

The genus contains 20 species.^[5]

• Rwenzori batis, Batis diops
• Margaret's batis, Batis margaritae
• Forest batis, Batis mixta
• Dark batis, Batis crypta
• Cape batis, Batis capensis
• Malawi batis, Batis dimorpha
• Woodwards' 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