Tychaedon


Tychaedon is a genus of passerine birds in the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae that are found in Sub-Saharan Africa. It contains species that were formerly placed in the genus Cercotrichas.

Taxonomy

The species now placed in this genus were previously placed in the genus Cercotrichas. A molecular phylogenetic study of the family Muscicapidae published in 2023 found that Cercotrichas was paraphyletic. In the rearrangement to create monophyletic genera, some species were moved to the resurrected genus Tychaedon. This genus had been erected in 1917 by the American ornithologist Charles [Wallace Richmond] as a replacement name for Aedonopsis that had been introduced by Richard [Bowdler Sharpe] 1883. The type species is Cossypha signata Sundevall, 1850, the brown scrub robin. The genus name Tychaedon combines Ancient Greek τυχη/tukhē meaning "chance" or "luck" with αηδων/aēdōn, αηδονος/aēdonos meaning "nightingale" or "songstress".
These are African species of open woodland or scrub, that nest in bushes or on the ground.
The genus contains the following five species:
ImageCommon nameScientific nameDistribution
Karoo scrub robinTychaedon coryphoeussouthern Africa
Brown scrub robinTychaedon signataforests of eastern southern Africa
Forest scrub robinTychaedon leucostictasparsely present throughout the African tropical rainforest
Bearded scrub robinTychaedon quadrivirgataEast Africa
Miombo scrub robinTychaedon barbatamiombo