Myrmecocichla

Myrmecocichla
Ant-eating chat (Myrmecocichla formicivora)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Muscicapidae
Genus:	Myrmecocichla Cabanis, 1851
Type species
Oenanthe formicivora[1] Vieillot, 1818

Myrmecocichla is a genus of passerine birds in the Old World chat and flycatcher family Muscicapidae.

Taxonomy

The genus Myrmecocichla was introduced in 1851 by the German ornithologist Jean Cabanis who listed several species in the genus but did not specify the type.^[2] In 1855 the English zoologist George Gray designated the type as Oenanthe formicivora Vieillot, 1818.^[3] This is a junior synonym of Motacilla formicivora Wilkes, 1817, the ant-eating chat.^[4][5] The genus name combines the Ancient Greek μυρμηξ/murmēx, μυρμηκος/murmēkos meaning "ant" with κιχλη/kikhlē meaning "thrush".^[6]

The genus contains the following seven species:^[5]

Image	Common name	Scientific name	Distribution
	Anteater chat	Myrmecocichla aethiops	Sahel and East African montane forests
	Congo moor chat	Myrmecocichla tholloni	Central Africa
	Ant-eating chat	Myrmecocichla formicivora	southern Africa
	Mountain chat	Myrmecocichla monticola	southern Africa
	Sooty chat	Myrmecocichla nigra	central Africa
	Rüppell's black chat	Myrmecocichla melaena	Ethiopian Highlands
	Arnot's chat	Myrmecocichla arnotti	Miombo woodlands

References

1. "Muscicapidae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-07-15.
2. Cabanis, Jean (1850–1851). Museum Heineanum : Verzeichniss der ornithologischen Sammlung des Oberamtmann Ferdinand Heine, auf Gut St. Burchard vor Halberstadt (in German and Latin). Vol. 1. Halberstadt: R. Frantz. p. 8. For the publication date of volume 1 see: Dickinson, E.C.; Overstreet, L.K.; Dowsett, R.J.; Bruce, M.D. (2011). Priority! The Dating of Scientific Names in Ornithology: a Directory to the literature and its reviewers. Northampton, UK: Aves Press. pp. 80–81. ISBN 978-0-9568611-1-5.
3. Gray, George Robert (1855). Catalogue of the Genera and Subgenera of Birds Contained in the British Museum. London: British Museum. p. 35.
4. Mayr, Ernst; Paynter, Raymond A. Jr, eds. (1964). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 10. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 115.
5. AviList Core Team (2025). "AviList: The Global Avian Checklist, v2025". doi:10.2173/avilist.v2025. Retrieved 8 December 2025.
6. Jobling, James A. "Myrmecocichla". The Key to Scientific Names. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Retrieved 8 December 2025.