Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 24, 2026

Niltava

Niltava is a genus of passerine birds in the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae. They are found in found in South and Southeast Asia as well as in China. The seven species in the genus are sexually dimorphic. The males have blue upperparts and all except the large niltava have orange-rufous underparts. The females are less brightly coloured and have brown upperparts and buffish underparts.

Last revised
Jul 24, 2026
Read time
≈ 1 min
Length
318 w
Citations
7
Source
Niltava
Taiwan vivid niltava (Niltava vivida)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Muscicapidae
Genus: Niltava
Hodgson, 1837
Type species
Niltava sundara1
Hodgson, 1837

Niltava (from niltau, Nepali for the rufous-bellied niltava) is a genus of passerine birds in the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae. They are found in found in South and Southeast Asia as well as in China. The seven species in the genus are sexually dimorphic. The males have blue upperparts and all except the large niltava have orange-rufous underparts. The females are less brightly coloured and have brown upperparts and buffish underparts.

Taxonomy

The genus Niltava was introduced in 1837 by the English naturalist Brian Hodgson with the rufous-bellied niltava (Niltava sundara) as the type species.23 The genus name is from the Nepali word Niltau for the rufous-bellied niltava.24

The genus contains the following seven species:5

References

References

  1. "Muscicapidae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-07-15.
  2. Hodgson, Brian Houghton (1837). "Indication of a new genus of insessores, tending to connect the Sylviadae and Muscicapidae". India Review and Journal of Foreign Science and the Arts. 1: 650–652.
  3. Mayr, Ernst; Cottrell, G. William, eds. (1986). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 11. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 355.
  4. Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 272. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
  5. Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (July 2023). "Chats, Old World flycatchers". IOC World Bird List Version 13.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  6. "Species Updates – IOC World Bird List". Retrieved 2021-05-27.