Taxonomy
The French biologist Charles Lucien Bonaparte created the genus Phedina in 1855 to accommodate the Mascarene Martin, previously Hirundo borbonica, which he considered to be sufficiently different from other Hirundo species to merit its own genus. The only other member of the genus is the Brazza's Martin, P. brazzae, first described by French zoologist Émile Oustalet in 1886. The genus name is derived from the Greek phaios (φαιός) "brown" and the Italian rondine "swallow". The species name for the Mascarene Martin refers to the Île de Bourbon (Réunion), and that for Brazza's Martin commemorates Italian-born French explorer Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza, later to become governor-general of the French Congo, who collected the type specimen.
The Phedina species are members of the swallow family of birds, and are classed as members of the Hirundininae subfamily, which comprises all swallows and martins except the very distinctive river martins. DNA sequence studies suggest that there are three major groupings within the Hirundininae, broadly correlating with the type of nest built. These groups are the "core martins", including burrowing species like the Sand Martin; the "nest-adopters", which are birds like the Tree Swallow that utilise natural cavities; and the "mud nest builders", such as the Barn Swallow, which build a nest from mud. Based on the DNA analysis, the Phedina species are placed in the "core martins".
The genus Phedina is thought to be an early offshoot from the main swallow lineage, although their striped plumage suggests a distant relationship with several streaked African Hirundo species. In the past it has sometimes been suggested that Brazza's Martin should be moved to its own genus Phedinopsis due to the significant differences in vocalisations and nest type from its relative. The nearest relative of the Phedina martins is the Banded Martin, Riparia cincta, which appears not to be closely related to the other members of its current genus and resembles Brazza's Martin in nesting habits and vocalisations. The current Association of European Rarities Committees (AERC)-recommended practice is to move the Banded Martin to its own genus as Neophedina cincta, rather than to merge it into Phedina, since the Banded Martin's larger size, different bill and nostril shape and non-colonial nesting are differences from the other Phedina species.
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