Editing Red-flanked bluetail

{{Short description|Species of bird}}
{{Speciesbox
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2016 |title=''Tarsiger cyanurus'' |volume=2016 |page=e.T105294257A87892860 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T105294257A87892860.en |access-date=12 November 2021}}</ref>
| image = Tarsiger_cyanurus.jpg
| image_caption = Male
| image2= ruribitakif1.JPG
| image2_caption = Female
| genus = Tarsiger
| species = cyanurus
| authority = ([[Peter Simon Pallas|Pallas]], 1773)
| synonyms = ''Luscinia cyanura''<br />''Erithacus cyanurus''
| range_map = TarsigerCyanurusIUCNver2019 1.png
| range_map_caption = Range of ''T. cyanurus''{{leftlegend|#00FF00|Breeding|outline=gray}} {{leftlegend|#008000|Resident|outline=gray}} {{leftlegend|#007FFF|Non-breeding|outline=gray}}
}}

The '''red-flanked bluetail''' ('''''Tarsiger cyanurus'''''), also known as the '''orange-flanked bush-robin''', is a small [[passerine]] [[bird]] that was formerly classed as a member of the [[Thrush (bird)|thrush]] family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an [[Old World flycatcher]], Muscicapidae. It, and related species, are often called [[chat (bird)|chat]]s.

==Habitat==
It is a [[bird migration|migratory]] insectivorous species breeding in mixed [[conifer]]ous forests with undergrowth in northern [[Asia]] and northeastern [[Europe]], from [[Finland]] east across [[Siberia]] to [[Kamchatka]] and south to [[Japan]]. It winters mainly in southeastern Asia, in the [[Indian Subcontinent]], the [[Himalayas]], [[Taiwan]], and northern [[Indochina]]. The breeding range is slowly expanding westwards through Finland (where up to 500 pairs now breed), and it is a rare but increasing [[vagrancy (biology)|vagrant]] to Western Europe, mainly to [[Great Britain]].<ref name=Hoyo>{{cite book| editor-last = del Hoyo| editor-first = J.| display-editors = etal| title = Handbook of the Birds of the World, vol. 10| publisher = Lynx Edicions| year = 2005| location = Barcelona| pages = [https://archive.org/details/handbookofbirdso0001unse/page/754 754]| isbn = 84-87334-72-5| url = https://archive.org/details/handbookofbirdso0001unse/page/754}}</ref><ref>British Birds Rarities Committee [https://web.archive.org/web/20070903133742/http://www.bbrc.org.uk/pipitstothrushes.htm occurrences, 1950-2006]</ref><ref>Hudson, N. et al. (2009). Report on rare birds in Great Britain in 2008. ''British Birds'' 102: 572–573.</ref> There have also been a few records in [[North America]], mostly in western [[Alaska]] as well as one on [[San Clemente Island]] off the southern California coast<ref>National Geographic (1999). ''Field Guide to the Birds of North America'' 3rd ed. {{ISBN|0-7922-7451-2}}.</ref><ref>eBird: [http://ebird.org/content/ebird/news/RFBL_CA Red-flanked Bluetail in California] (Dec 2011)</ref> and one overwintering on the Central California coast in Santa Cruz, California, in 2023.<ref>eBird:[https://ebird.org/checklist/S131890156 eBird Checklist S131890156]</ref> One was also spotted in New Jersey in December 2023.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.lehighvalleylive.com/outdoors/2023/12/a-rare-sighting-has-birding-enthusiasts-from-all-over-flocking-to-nj-lehigh-valley-nature-watch.html | title=A rare sighting has birding enthusiasts from all over flocking to N.J. &#124; Lehigh Valley Nature Watch | date=9 December 2023 }}</ref>

==Description==
At 13–14&nbsp;cm long and 10–18 g weight, the red-flanked bluetail is similar in size and weight to the [[common redstart]] and slightly smaller (particularly with a slimmer build) than the [[European robin]]. As the name implies, both sexes have a blue tail and rump, and orange-red flanks; they also have a white throat and greyish-white underparts, and a small, thin black bill and slender black legs. The adult male additionally has dark blue upperparts, while females and immature males are plain brown above apart from the blue rump and tail, and have a dusky breasts. In behaviour, it is similar to a common redstart, frequently flicking its tail in the same manner, and regularly flying from a perch to catch insects in the air or on the ground. The male sings its melancholy trill from treetops. Its call is a typical chat "tacc" noise. The nest is built on or near the ground, with 3–5 eggs which are incubated by the female.<ref name=Hoyo/><ref name=Collins>[[Lars Svensson (ornithologist)|Svensson, L.]], [[Killian Mullarney|Mullarney, K.]], & [[Dan Zetterström|Zetterström, D.]] (2009) ''[[Collins Bird Guide]]'', ed. 2. {{ISBN|0-00-219728-6}}, pages 260–1</ref>

==Taxonomy and nomenclature==
The genus name ''Tarsiger'' is from [[Ancient Greek]] ''tarsos'', "flat of the foot" and [[Latin]] ''gerere'', "to carry". The specific  ''cyanurus'' is also derived from Greek, the roots being ''kuanos'', "dark-blue", and ''oura'', "tail".<ref>{{cite book | last= Jobling | first= James A. | year= 2010| title= The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names | url= https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling | publisher=Christopher Helm | location = London, United Kingdom | isbn = 978-1-4081-2501-4 | pages=128, 379 }}</ref>

In the past generally treated as comprising two [[subspecies]], ''T. c. cyanurus'' breeding in northern Asia and ''T. c. rufilatus'' breeding in the [[Himalaya]], it is now increasingly being treated as monotypic, with ''T. c. rufilatus'' split off as a distinct species, [[Himalayan bluetail]] ''T. rufilatus''. The species has also been known by a variety of English and scientific names in the ornithological literature.

The subspecies ''albocoeruleus'', distributed in north-central [[China]], was described by [[Wilhelm Meise]] in 1937.<ref>{{cite journal|first=W. |last=Meise|pages= 550–551 |editor-last= Stresemann| editor-first=E. |title=Aves Beickianae Beiträge zur Ornithologie von Nordwest-Kansu nach den Forschungen von Walter Beick in den Jahren 1926–1933|journal=J. Ornithol.|issue= 3 |year=1937}}</ref> It was usually considered invalid, until recognized by Hadoram Shirihai and Lars Svensson in 2018,<ref>{{Cite book|title=Handbook of Western Palearctic Birds, Volume 1: Passerines: Larks to Warblers|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NchwDwAAQBAJ&dq=Shirihai,+H.,+Svensson,+L.,+2018.+Handbook+of+Western+Palearctic+Birds,+Volume+1:+Passerines:+Larks+to+Warblers.+Bloomsbury+Publishing,+London.&pg=PP1|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|date=2018-08-27|isbn=978-1-4729-3758-2|language=en|first1=Hadoram|last1=Shirihai|first2=Lars|last2=Svensson}}</ref> and it is now proposed to be a full species, the [[Qilian bluetail]] (''T. albocoeruleus''), in a [[molecular phylogenetic]] study published in 2022. It is distinctive in [[genetics]] and [[bird vocalisation|vocalisation]], but only marginally different in [[Morphology (biology)|morphology]]. The males of ''albocoeruleus'' have bluer fore-[[supercilium]], and less white than in ''cyanurus''.<ref>{{Cite journal | last1=Wei | first1=C. | last2=Sangster | first2=G. | last3=Olsson | first3=U. | last4=Rasmussen | first4=P.C. | last5=Svensson | first5=L. | last6=Yao | first6=C.-T. | last7=Carey | first7=G.J. | last8=Leader | first8=P.J. | last9=Zhang | first9=R. | last10=Chen | first10=G. | last11=Song | first11=G. | last12=Lei | first12=F. | last13=Wilcove | first13=D.S. | last14=Alström | first14=P. | last15=Liu | first15=Y. | date=2022 | title=Cryptic species in a colorful genus: Integrative taxonomy of the bush robins (Aves, Muscicapidae, ''Tarsiger'') suggests two overlooked species | journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution | volume=175 | pages=107580 | doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2022.107580| pmid=35810968 | doi-access=free | bibcode=2022MolPE.17507580W }}  [[File:CC-BY icon.svg|50px]]  Text was copied from this source, which is available under a [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/  Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License].</ref>

The table below details the treatments adopted by some major works, by publication date (newest first):

{| class="wikitable sortable" width="70%" border="1px #bbbbbb solid"
! '''Publication''' !! '''English name''' !! '''Scientific name''' !! '''Taxonomic notes'''
|-
| [[Birds of the World: Recommended English Names|IOC standard list, version 2.5]]<ref>IOC World Bird List, version 2.5 (2010). [http://www.worldbirdnames.org/n-chats.html Family Muscicapidae]</ref>
| Red-flanked bluetail
| ''Tarsiger cyanurus''
| monotypic; excludes ''rufilatus''
|-
| [[Collins Bird Guide]]<ref name=Collins/>
| Red-flanked bluetail
| ''Tarsiger cyanurus''
| 
|-
| [[Birds of the World: Recommended English Names|IOC standard list, version 1]]<ref>[[Frank Gill (ornithologist)|Gill, Frank]] and Minturn Wright (2006) ''[[Birds of the World: Recommended English Names]]'' {{ISBN|978-0-7136-7904-5}}, page 175</ref>
| Red-flanked bluetail
| ''Tarsiger cyanurus''
| polytypic; includes ''rufilatus''
|-
| [[Clements Checklist]] (6th edition)<ref>[[Clements, James F.]] (2007) ''[[The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World]]'' 6th edition {{ISBN|978-0-8014-4501-9}}, page 456</ref> 
| Red-flanked bluetail
| ''Tarsiger cyanurus''
| polytypic; includes ''rufilatus''
|-
| [[Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide|Birds of South Asia]]<ref>[[Rasmussen, Pamela C.]] and [[John C. Anderton]] (2005) ''[[Birds of South Asia. The Ripley Guide]]'' {{ISBN|84-87334-67-9}}, volume 2, page 394</ref>
| Northern red-flanked bush-robin
| ''Tarsiger cyanurus''
| monotypic; ''rufilatus'' split off
|-
| [[Handbook of the Birds of the World|HBW]]<ref>del Hoyo, Josep, Andy Elliot & David Christie (2005) ''[[Handbook of the Birds of the World]]'' volume 10 {{ISBN|84-87334-72-5}}, pages 754–5</ref>
| Orange-flanked bush-robin
| ''Tarsiger cyanurus''
| polytypic; includes ''rufilatus'', although split suggested
|-
| [[The Howard and Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World|Howard & Moore]] (3rd edition)<ref>Dickinson, Edward C. (2003) ''[[The Howard and Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World]]'' 3rd edition {{ISBN|0-7136-6536-X}}, page 677</ref>
| Orange-flanked bush robin
| ''Luscinia cyanura''
| polytypic; includes ''rufilatus''
|-
| [[An Annotated Checklist of the Birds of the Oriental Region|OBC Checklist]]<ref>Inskipp, Tim, Nigel Lindsey and William Duckworth (1996) ''[[An Annotated Checklist of the Birds of the Oriental Region]]'' {{ISBN|0-9529545-0-8}}, page 144</ref> 
| Orange-flanked bush robin
| ''Tarsiger cyanurus''
| polytypic; includes ''rufilatus''
|-
| [[The Howard and Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World|Howard & Moore]] (2nd edition)<ref>Howard, Richard and Alick Moore (1991) ''[[The Howard and Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World]]'' 2nd edition {{ISBN|0-12-356910-9}}, page 316</ref>
| Red-flanked bluetail
| ''Tarsiger cyanurus''
| polytypic; includes ''rufilatus''
|-
| [[Birds of the Western Palearctic|BWP]]<ref>Cramp, S. (1988) ''[[The Birds of the Western Palearctic]]'' volume 5. {{ISBN|978-0-19-857508-5}}</ref> 
| Red-flanked bluetail
| ''Tarsiger cyanurus''
| polytypic; includes ''rufilatus''
|-
| [[List of Recent Holarctic Bird Species|Voous]]<ref>[[Voous, Karel H.]] (1977) ''[[List of Recent Holarctic Bird Species]]''  {{ISBN|0-907446-13-2}}, page 43</ref>
| Red-flanked bluetail or <br />orange-flanked bush robin
| ''Tarsiger cyanurus''
| polytypic; includes ''rufilatus''
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Commons and category|Tarsiger cyanurus|Tarsiger cyanurus}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q129219}}

[[Category:Tarsiger|red-flanked bluetail]]
[[Category:Birds of Russia]]
[[Category:Birds described in 1773|red-flanked bluetail]]