nicator
{{Short description|Genus of birds}}
{{other uses}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| image = Nicator Gronvold.jpg
| image_caption = N. gularis (left) and N. chloris (right)
| taxon = Nicator
| authority = Hartlaub & Finsch, 1870
| type_species = Lanius chloris{{cite web |url= https://www.aviansystematics.org/4th-edition-checklist?viewfamilies=163 |title= Alaudidae |author= |date= |website= aviansystematics.org |publisher= The Trust for Avian Systematics |access-date= 2023-07-16}}
| type_species_authority = Valenciennes, 1826
| range_map = Nicator distribution map.png
| range_map_caption = Range of the genus
}}
The nicators are a genus, Nicator, and family, Nicatoridae, of songbirds endemic to Africa. The genus and family contain three species.{{Cite book | first = Lincoln | last = Fishpool | first2 = Joseph | last2 = Tobias | editor-first = Josep | editor-last = del Hoyo | editor2-first = Andrew | editor2-last = Elliott | editor3-first = David | editor3-last = Christie | contribution = Family Pycnonotidae (Bulbuls) | title = Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 10, Cuckoo-shrikes to Thrushes | year = 2005 | pages = [https://archive.org/details/handbookofbirdso0001unse/page/247 247–248] | place = Barcelona | publisher = Lynx Edicions | isbn = 84-87334-72-5 }}
Taxonomy
The systematic affinities of the genus have been a long-standing mystery. The group was originally assigned to the shrikes (Laniidae). In the 1920s James Chapin noted the similarities between the nicators and both the bulbuls (Pycnonotidae) and the bushshrikes (Malaconotidae). It wasn't until 1943 that Jean Théodore Delacour placed the genus with the bulbuls. Storrs Olson argued that the genus was more closely related to the bushshrikes, as the nicators lacked the ossification of the nostril found in all other bulbuls.{{cite journal|last=Olson|first=Storrs|year=1989|title=Preliminary systematic notes on some Old World Passerines|journal=Rivista Italiana di Ornitologia|volume=59|issue=3/4|pages=183–195}} A number of features, including the position of the facial bristles (which are preorbital rather than rictal), their nests and the calls, make the genus unique, and DNA studies have recently suggested that the genus is best treated as a monogeneric family.{{cite journal|last=Beresford|first=P|last2=Barker |first2=FK |last3=Ryan |first3=PG |last4=Crowe |first4=TM |year=2005|title=African endemics span the tree of songbirds (Passeri): molecular systematics of several evolutionary 'enigmas'|journal=Proc. R. Soc. B|pmid=15888418|volume=272|issue=1565|pmc=1599865|pages=849–858| doi = 10.1098/rspb.2004.2997}} Some authorities, like the Clements Checklist, treat the nicators as a new family, Nicatoridae.{{cite web |url = http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/corrections/updates-corrections-dec-2009|title=Updates & Corrections - Dec 2009 |last=Clements Checklist team|year=2009|work=The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World|access-date=16 January 2010}}
The name of the genus is derived from Nikátōr (Νικάτωρ), Greek for 'conqueror'.{{Cite book| last = Jobling| first = James A.| title = A Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names| publisher = Oxford University Press| year = 1991| page = 160| isbn = 0-19-854634-3 }} Within the genus, the western and eastern nicators are considered to form a superspecies and are sometimes treated as the same species.
=Species=
| class="wikitable" | |||
| Image | Scientific name | Common Name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| 120px | Nicator chloris | Western nicator | Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, and Uganda. |
| 120px | Nicator gularis | Eastern nicator | Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Somalia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. |
| Nicator vireo | Yellow-throated nicator | Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, DRC, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and Uganda. |
Description
The nicators are shrike-like birds, {{convert|16|to(-)|23|cm|in|abbr=on}} in length. The eastern and western nicators are similar in size and larger than the yellow-throated nicator. The males are considerably heavier than the females, for example in the western nicator the males range from {{convert|48|to(-)|67|g|oz|abbr=on}}, whereas the females only weigh {{convert|32|to(-)|51|g|oz|abbr=on}}. The yellow-throated nicator is much lighter, ranging from only {{convert|21|to(-)|26|g|oz|abbr=on}}. The nicators have heavy hooked bills. The plumage of the genus is overall olive on the backs, tail and wings, with yellow spotting on the wings, and lighter grey or whitish undersides.
Distribution and habitat
File:Laniarius vireo - 1700-1880 - Print - Iconographia Zoologica - Special Collections University of Amsterdam - UBA01 IZ16600469, crop.JPG of the tropical lowlands]]
The nicators are endemic to Sub-Saharan Africa. The western nicator has a mostly continuous distribution from Senegal to eastern Uganda and northern Angola. The eastern nicator has a discontinuous distribution in East Africa from Somalia south to eastern South Africa. The yellow-throated nicator is distributed in central Africa from Cameroon to Uganda.
The nicators occupy a wide range of forest and woodland habitats.
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Passerida|S.|state=collapsed}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q1093632}}