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The royal flycatchers are a genus, Onychorhynchus, of passerine birds that the International Ornithological Committee (IOC) places in the family Tityridae.[1]
| Royal flycatcher | |
|---|---|
 | |
| "Amazonian" tropical royal flycatcher at Apiacás, Mato Grosso state, Brasil | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Tityridae |
| Subfamily: | Oxyruncinae |
| Genus: | Onychorhynchus Fischer von Waldheim, 1810 |
The genus name Onychorhynchus comes from the Greek words ὄνυξ onyx "nail" and ρυγχος rhynkhos "bill".[2] The specific epithet of the type species, coronatus, and the common name royal flycatcher, refer to the striking, colorful crest,[3] which is seen displayed very rarely,[3] except after mating, while preening, in courtship as well as being handled.[3]
For many years the IOC and BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World (HBW) placed four species in genus Onychorhynchus.[4][5] In 2024 the IOC combined ("lumped") the northern, Amazonian, and Pacific royal flycatchers as a single species, the tropical royal flycatcher (O. coronatus), leaving the Atlantic royal flycatcher unchanged.[6]
The taxonomies of the genus and of the family Tityridae remain unsettled. HBW retains the four-species treatment.[5] The Clements taxonomy recognizes the same two species of royal flycatcher as the IOC. However, Clements places them and five other species in family Onychorhynchidae, rather than in Tityridae like the IOC.[7][1] The North American and South American Classification Committees of the American Ornithological Society (AOS) treat genus Onychorhynchus as having one species, the royal flycatcher (O. coronatus sensu lato), with multiple subspecies. Like Clements the AOS committees place the royal flycatcher in family Onychorhynchidae. They lump two of the Clements species and like Clements place the resulting four species in Onychorhynchidae. The South American committee is seeking a proposal for reevaluation of the taxa.[8][9]
The IOC and Clements recognize these two species in genus Onychorhynchus.[1][7]
| Image | Scientific name | Common Name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Onychorhynchus coronatus | Tropical royal flycatcher | Southern Mexico through Central America, western Colombia, western Ecuador, and the Amazon Basin in northern Bolivia, eastern Peru, eastern Ecuador, eastern Colombia, Venezuela, the Guianas, and northern and western Brazil |
 | Onychorhynchus swainsoni | Atlantic royal flycatcher | Atlantic forest in southeastern Brazil |
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