Ficedula

Ficedula
File:Red-breasted Flycatcher (Ficedula parva).jpg
Female red-breasted flycatcher (Ficedula parva)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Muscicapidae
Subfamily:	Saxicolinae
Genus:	Ficedula Brisson, 1760
Type species
Motacilla hypoleuca Pallas, 1764
Species
30+, see text.
Synonyms
Siphia

The Ficedula flycatchers are a genus of Old World flycatchers. The genus is the largest in the family, containing around thirty species. They have sometimes been included in the genus Muscicapa. The genus is found in Europe, Asia and Africa. Several species are highly migratory, whereas other species are sedentary.

Taxonomy and systematics

The genus was introduced by the French naturalist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760 with the European pied flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca) as the type species. The genus name is from Latin and refers to a small fig-eating bird (ficus, "fig") supposed to change into the blackcap in winter.

Extant species

File:Ficedula mugimaki - Khao Yai.jpg

Male mugimaki flycatcher

The genus contains the following species:

Image	Common name	Scientific name	Distribution
File:Đớp ruồi vàng (cropped).jpg	Yellow-rumped flycatcher	Ficedula zanthopygia	Manchuria, China and Korea; winters to Malay Peninsula and Sumatra
-	Green-backed flycatcher	Ficedula elisae	northeastern China; winters to Malay Peninsula
File:Narcissus Flycatcher-cropped.jpg	Narcissus flycatcher	Ficedula narcissina	Kuril Islands, Manchuria and Japan; winters to Hainan, northeastern Borneo and Philippines
File:Ryukyu Flycatcher imported from iNaturalist photo 175461055 on 22 June 2024.jpg	Ryukyu flycatcher	Ficedula owstoni	Ryukyu Islands
File:Slaty-backed Flycatcher male.jpg	Slaty-blue flycatcher	Ficedula tricolor	Himalayas, central China, Yunnan and northern Indochina
File:Snowy-browed Flycatcher 0A2A2564.jpg	Snowy-browed flycatcher	Ficedula hyperythra	Himalayas, southern China, Taiwan and Southeast Asia
File:Ficedula mugimaki 243653507.jpg	Mugimaki flycatcher	Ficedula mugimaki	Mongolia, Korea, southern Siberia and northeastern China; winters to Southeast Asia
File:Slaty-backed Flycatcher.jpg	Slaty-backed flycatcher	Ficedula erithacus	eastern Himalayas, central/southern China; winters to northern Indochina
File:Pygmy Blue-Flycatcher fem - Eaglenest - India (34327315882).jpg	Pygmy flycatcher	Ficedula hodgsoni	eastern Himalayas and Southeast Asia
File:Rufous-gorgeted Flycatcher 01.jpg	Rufous-gorgeted flycatcher	Ficedula strophiata	Himalayas, Patkai, central/southern China, northern Indochina and eastern Vietnam
File:Ficedula sapphira.jpg	Sapphire flycatcher	Ficedula sapphira	Eastern Himalaya, central/southern China and northern Indochina
File:Ultramarine Flycatcher (male).jpg	Ultramarine flycatcher	Ficedula superciliaris	eastern Afghanistan to Hengduan Mountains; winters in India and northwestern Indochina
File:Little Pied Flycatcher by Tisha Mukherjee 02.jpg	Little pied flycatcher	Ficedula westermanni	Himalayas and Southeast Asia
File:Rusty-tailed Flycatcher I IMG 7389.jpg	Rusty-tailed flycatcher	Ficedula ruficauda	Tian Shan and Himalayas; winters to Western Ghats
File:Kashmir Flycatcher a Vulnerable Himalayan Species 01.jpg	Kashmir flycatcher	Ficedula subrubra	Nilgiri Mountains and Sri Lanka
File:Male Red-breasted Flycatcher.jpg	Red-breasted flycatcher	Ficedula parva	Europe and Caucasus ; winters to South Asia
File:Ficedula albicilla 255356227.jpg	Taiga flycatcher	Ficedula albicilla	Siberia; winters to Indomalaya
File:Ficedula semitorquata.jpg	Semicollared flycatcher	Ficedula semitorquata	eastern Mediterranean; winters to East Africa
File:Atlas Flycatcher (Ficedula speculigera).jpg	Atlas pied flycatcher	Ficedula speculigera	north-west Africa
File:Ficedula hypoleuca Munkedal.jpg	European pied flycatcher	Ficedula hypoleuca	Europe; winters to equatorial Africa
File:Collared flycatcher (Ficedula albicollis).jpg	Collared flycatcher	Ficedula albicollis	Europe; winters to southeastern Africa
File:Black and orange fly catcher -male.jpg	Black-and-orange flycatcher	Ficedula nigrorufa	southern Western Ghats
File:Naturalis Biodiversity Center - RMNH.AVES.84437 1 - Ficedula dumetoria riedeli (Buttikofer, 1886) - Muscicapidae - bird skin specimen.jpeg	Tanimbar flycatcher	Ficedula riedeli	Tanimbar Islands (Larat and Yamdena)
File:Ficedula dumetoria.jpg	Rufous-chested flycatcher	Ficedula dumetoria	Malesia
-	Furtive flycatcher	Ficedula disposita	Luzon
File:Palawan Flycatcher.jpg	Palawan flycatcher	Ficedula platenae	Palawan
File:Cyornis rufigula Smit.jpg	Rufous-throated flycatcher	Ficedula rufigula	Sulawesi
-	Cinnamon-chested flycatcher	Ficedula buruensis	Maluku Islands (Buru, Seram and Kai Besar)
-	Sumba flycatcher	Ficedula harterti	Sumba
File:Ficedula timorensis 107995245.jpg	Black-banded flycatcher	Ficedula timorensis	Timor
File:Little Slaty Flycatcher (cropped).jpg	Little slaty flycatcher	Ficedula basilanica	Philippines Mindanao, Leyte and Samar
File:Bundok Flycatcher Male.png	Bundok flycatcher	Ficedula luzoniensis	montane Philippines
File:Cryptic Flycatcher (cropped).jpg	Cryptic flycatcher	Ficedula crypta	Mindanao
-	Lompobattang flycatcher	Ficedula bonthaina	Lompobattang Massif, Sulawesi
File:Ficedula henrici 1901.jpg	Damar flycatcher	Ficedula henrici	Damar Island

Former species

Formerly, some authorities also considered the following species (or subspecies) as species within the genus Ficedula:

• Indian black-naped blue monarch (as Siphia Styani)

Speciation

A 2015 study on genomic pattern of differentiation, also known as islands of speciation by Burri et al., in the Ficedula flycatchers. Islands of differentiation are genomic regions with elevated measures of genetic differentiation. The authors examined island of differentiation within genomes and sought to answer (1) how they are formed and (2) what role they have in speciation. The flycatcher species complex is made up of four sister species and has a broad species range over all of Europe and parts of North Africa. The authors sequenced 200 genomes from 10 populations to an average of 14x coverage.

The authors tested two prominent models for the accumulation of islands of speciation, speciation with gene flow and linkage selection. Some of the expected patterns for islands of differentiation forming accumulating under a gene flow model and reduced sequence divergence outside the islands of differentiation compared to the rest of the genome and expansion of the islands of differentiation as reproductive isolation is reinforced during the speciation process. Based on the genomic data, expectations from the speciation with gene flow model were not well supported. Instead there was more support for the linkage selection model for islands of variation model. Such as an inverse correlation between recombination rate and differentiation, low amounts of ancestral variation in low recombining regions, and a positive relationship with nucleotide diversity and recombination rate. Some of the main findings from the study were:

• The differentiation landscapes were very similar across the four flycatcher species.
• Tests using population genetic parameters to test assumptions indicated that differentiation landscape across the genomes were likely not caused by gene flow.
• The signatures for background selection highly outweighed selective sweep signatures.

By reinforcement

F. hypoleuca vis-a-vis F. albicollis are speciating from each other by reinforcement, as evidenced by differences between colouration in sympatry versus allopatry. This is evidence for speciation by reinforcement.

Description

The flycatchers in the genus Ficedula are typically small with slender bodies and rounded heads. In many cases they are sexually dimorphic in their plumage, with the males being brightly or strikingly coloured and the females being duller or drabber.

Further reading

• Lei, X., Lian, Z.-M., Lei F.-M., Yin Z.-H., Zhao H.-F. 2007. Phylogeny of some Muscicapinae birds based on cyt b mitochondrial gene sequences. Acta Zoologica Sinica, 53(1):95 - 105. PDF fulltext Archived 2011-07-21 at the Wayback Machine