Phaenicophilidae
Phaenicophilidae are a family of passerine birds endemic to the island of Hispaniola and adjacent islands. The family contains four species in three genera. These species were historically classified within the families Thraupidae and Parulidae, but genetic studies have confirmed they form a distinct clade.
Taxonomy
The family was originally established to classify the genus Phaenicophilus. It was reinstated when molecular genetic studies revealed that various species traditionally classified in Thraupidae and some from Parulidae were not as closely related to the members of those families as they were to each other. This led to the inclusion of the genera Microligea and Xenoligea into Phaenicophilidae. The closest relatives to this family are the Icteridae and Parulidae.Several other groups of Caribbean tanagers—specifically the genera Nesospingus, Spindalis, and Calyptophilus—were previously included in this group or tentatively associated with it. However, the analyses by Barker et al. suggested these lineages are sufficiently divergent to warrant their own monotypic families: Nesospingidae, Spindalidae, and Calyptophilidae, respectively. These taxa are likely closely related to one another but appear to have diverged in the distant past.
These taxonomic changes have been adopted by the International Ornithological Congress and the Clements Checklist.
Species
The family consists of three genera and four species:| Image | Genus | Species |
| Microligea Cory, 1884 | ||
| XenoligeaBond, 1967 | ||
| PhaenicophilusStrickland, 1851 |