Dessonornis

Dessonornis is a genus of birds in the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae that are found in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Dessonornis
white-throated robin-chat (Dessonornis humeralis)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Muscicapidae
Genus:	Dessonornis Smith, 1836
Type species
Dessonornis humeralis

Taxonomy

The genus Dessonornis was introduced in 1836 by British ornithologist Andrew Smith to accommodate a single species, the white-throated robin-chat, which is therefore considered as the type species.^[1][2] The name Dessonornis is a misspelling, Smith corrected it to Bessonornis in 1840.^[3] The name combines the Ancient Greek bēssa meaning "glen" or "wooded valley" with ornis meaning "bird".^[4] The spelling correction is not recognized by International Ornithologists' Union.^[5]

Species in this genus was previously placed in Cossypha, while phylogenetic studies revealed that they are more closely related to Cichladusa and Xenocopsychus.^[6] In the taxonomic revision to create monophyletic groups, Dessonornis was resurrected with the following species:^[5]

• White-throated robin-chat, Dessonornis humeralis
• Cape robin-chat, Dessonornis caffer
• Archer's ground robin, Dessonornis archeri
• Olive-flanked ground robin, Dessonornis anomalus