White-throated Robin

About the White-throated Robin

The white-throated robin or irania (Irania gutturalis) is a small, migratory passerine bird in the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae, and the only member of the genus Irania. It breeds on high-altitude mountain slopes with dense scrub in western Asia and winters in East Africa. Males have lead-grey upperparts and bright orange underparts with a namesake white throat patch. Females are duller, with greyer underparts, orange sides, and a fainter white throat compared to the males.

The vernacular and generic name Irania alludes to Iran, its type locality, while the specific name gutturalis is Medieval Latin for "of the throat", referring to the male's white throat. The white-throated robin belongs to a group of passerines called chats, which were, as traditionally defined, all formerly thought to be members of the thrush family Turdidae, but are now classified as Old World flycatchers, Muscicapidae. Within the Muscicapidae family, the chats (as traditionally defined) make up the subfamily Saxicolinae, together with other species that were not traditionally labeled as chats/thrushes, such as the Ficedula flycatchers. The white-throated robin is sister to the genus... Wikipedia →