Chat (bird)
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Chats (formerly sometimes known as "Chat-thrushes") are a group of small Old World insectivorous birds formerly classed as members of the thrush family Turdidae, but now considered Old World flycatchers.
This name is normally applied to the robust ground-feeding flycatchers found in Europe and Asia; these make up most of the subfamily Saxicolinae. There are a large number of genera. Most northern species are strong migrants.
Other songbirds called "chats" are:
- Australian chats, genera Ashbyia and Epthianura of the honeyeater family (Meliphagidae). They belong to a more ancient lineage than Saxicolinae.
- American chats, genus Granatellus of the cardinal family (Cardinalidae), formerly placed in the wood-warbler family. They belong to a more modern lineage than Saxicolinae.
- Yellow-breasted Chat (Icteria virens), an enigmatic North American songbird tentatively placed in the wood-warbler family (Parulidae); its true relationships are unresolved.
Read more about Chat (bird): Species in Taxonomic Order
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