Catharus

The genus Catharus is an evolutionary clade of forest-dwelling passerine birds in the family Turdidae (thrushes), commonly known as nightingale-thrushes. The extant species are widely distributed across the Americas and are descended from a common ancestor that lived 4–6 million years ago.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite journal</ref> Most of the species are shy of humans, seldom leaving the cover of dense forest vegetation, where their activities are hidden from view. Thus, many fundamental aspects of their biology and life histories are poorly known.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name=":3">Template:Cite journal</ref>

Nightingale-thrushes are small omnivorous songbirds that, like their sister species the wood thrush (Hylocichla mustelina), exhibit a variety of migratory and non-migratory habits.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="wink">Winker, Kevin & Pruett, Christin L. (2006): "Seasonal migration, speciation, and morphological convergence in the avian genus Catharus (Turdidae). Template:Webarchive" Auk 123(4): 1052-1068. DOI: 10.1642/0004-8038(2006)123[1052:SMSAMC]2.0.CO;2</ref> Multiple species are long-distance migrants that breed in North America and "winter" in the Neotropics. The breeding range of one migratory species, the gray-cheeked thrush (C. minimus), extends into eastern Siberia. The remainder of the migratory species are restricted to the Americas, notwithstanding occasional vagrant records in Europe<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and northeast Asia.<ref name="brazil">Brazil, Mark (2009) Birds of East Asia Template:ISBN page 400 – 402</ref> The non-migratory species are residents of the Neotropical realm.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name=":4" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":3" />

Systematics

Historically, the migratory and residents were placed in two genera: Hylocichla and Catharus, respectively.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> However, molecular studies indicate that hermit thrush (C. guttatus) is more closely related to three Neotropical species (C. occidentalis, C. gracilirostris, C. frantzii) than to the long-distance migrants which it superficially resembles.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="wink" /><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name=":0" /> This pattern of homoplasy may be the result of two independent origins of migration in the genus, and the convergent evolution of phenotypic characters associated with migration.<ref name="wink" />

The taxonomy of Catharus dates to the 18th century and has a confusing history resulting from multiple cryptic species, taxonomic composites, misidentified species, and other historical errors.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name=":2">Template:Cite journal</ref> The name Catharus, authored by Charles Lucien Bonaparte, is derived from the Ancient Greek {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (Template:Transliteration) meaning "pure" or "clean", and refers to the plumage of the orange-billed nightingale-thrush (C. aurantiirostris).<ref name="job">Template:Cite book</ref>

File:Charles Lucien Jules Laurent Bonaparte, Prince di Canino. Li Wellcome V0006453.jpg

Charles Lucien Bonaparte (1803–1857), who gave the genus Catharus its name in 1850.

Species delimitation in Catharus remains an active topic of study and multiple taxonomic splits have been proposed and/or adopted during the last half century, to recognize long-overlooked cryptic species. For example, evidence supporting the split of C. frantzii and C. occidentalis was published in 1969;<ref name=":1" /> evidence supporting the split of C. bicknelli and C. minimus was published in 1993;<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> most recently, evidence supporting the split of C. dryas and C. maculatus was published in 2017.<ref name=":4">Template:Cite journal</ref> The sister taxa C. ustulatus and C. swainsoni have also been treated at species rank by some authors.<ref name=":2" /><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

The nightingale-thrushes, revered for their beautiful songs, have long been compared to the common nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos). Theodore Roosevelt once remarked that, "In melody, and above all in that finer, higher melody where the chords vibrate with the touch of eternal sorrow, [L. megarhynchos] cannot rank with such singers as the Wood Thrush and Hermit Thrush. The serene, ethereal beauty of the Hermit's song, rising and falling through the still evening under the archways of hoary mountain forests that have endured from time everlasting".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> A study published in 2014 presented evidence that hermit thrush songs, like human music, tend to be constructed of frequency ratios that are expressed as simple mathematical ratios and follow the harmonic series.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Species

Image	Scientific name	Common Name	Distribution
File:Catharus dryas 2.jpg	Catharus dryas	Yellow-throated nightingale-thrush	Resident: Middle America.
File:Catharus maculatus.jpg	Catharus maculatus	Speckled nightingale-thrush (split from C. dryas)	Resident: South America.
File:Orange-billed Nightingale-Thrush, La Concordia, Mexico (17001712972).jpg	Catharus aurantiirostris	Orange-billed nightingale-thrush	Resident: Mexico to Colombia and Brazil.
File:Catharus mexicanus -Costa Rica-8.jpg	Catharus mexicanus	Black-headed nightingale-thrush	Resident: Mexico to Costa Rica.
File:Catharus fuscater Santa Elena 1.JPG	Catharus fuscater	Slaty-backed nightingale-thrush	Resident: Costa Rica to Bolivia.
File:Catharus ustulatus -North Dakota-8a.jpg	Catharus swainsoni	Swainson's thrush	Migratory: breeds in North America, winters in Central and South America.
File:Black-billed Nightingale-thrush.jpg	Catharus gracilirostris	Black-billed nightingale-thrush	Resident: Costa Rica and Panama.
File:Hermit thrush qmnonic.jpg	Catharus guttatus	Hermit thrush	Migratory: breeds and winters in North America.
File:Russet Nightingale-thrush.jpg	Catharus occidentalis	Russet nightingale-thrush	Resident: Mexico.
File:Catharus frantzii 57202978.jpg	Catharus frantzii	Ruddy-capped nightingale-thrush	Resident: Mexico to Panama.
File:Graycheekedthrush36.jpg	Catharus minimus	Gray-cheeked thrush	Migratory: breeds in North America, winters in South America
File:Catharus bicknelli Mount Ellen 3.jpg	Catharus bicknelli	Bicknell's thrush	Migratory: breeds in northeastern North America, winters in Hispaniola
File:Veery in CP (43277).jpg	Catharus fuscescens	Veery	Migratory: breeds in North America, winters in South America