[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":269},["ShallowReactive",2],{"families_en:\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fmuholovkovye":3,"alt-locale:families_en:\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fmuholovkovye":124,"section-listing:families_en:\u002Fsemeystva":125,"section-listing:disabled":262,"related-covers:en:\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fdrozdovye|\u002Fsemeystva|\u002Fopredelitel":263},{"id":4,"title":5,"body":6,"coverImage":84,"description":85,"extension":86,"faq":87,"imagePrompt":97,"latinName":20,"meta":98,"navigation":99,"order":100,"pageType":101,"path":102,"publishedAt":103,"readingMinutes":104,"relatedLinks":105,"seo":118,"sitemap":121,"stem":122,"taxonRank":101,"updatedAt":100,"__hash__":123},"families_en\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fmuholovkovye.md","Old World Flycatchers and Chats (Muscicapidae)",{"type":7,"value":8,"toc":76},"minimark",[9,14,22,25,29,32,35,39,69,73],[10,11,13],"h2",{"id":12},"what-makes-muscicapidae-a-family","What makes Muscicapidae a family",[15,16,17,21],"p",{},[18,19,20],"strong",{},"Muscicapidae",", the Old World flycatcher and chat family, is one of the largest songbird families, comprising several hundred species with a remarkably diverse range of appearances and habits. Modern genetic research has substantially reshaped this family compared to older classification systems, moving robins, nightingales, and several related \"chats\" into Muscicapidae from groupings that once placed them closer to the thrush family — a clear example of how DNA evidence can reveal evolutionary relationships not obvious from appearance or behavior alone.",[15,23,24],{},"What unites the family at a structural level is a generally fine, often somewhat flattened beak well suited to catching insects, a body built for agile, often short-distance movement whether on the ground, through dense cover, or in brief aerial sallies, and a broadly similar upright perching posture shared across most member species, even as specific foraging strategy varies considerably from one genus to another.",[10,26,28],{"id":27},"distinctive-traits-across-the-family","Distinctive traits across the family",[15,30,31],{},"Foraging technique highlights the family's internal diversity clearly: the pied flycatcher exemplifies classic \"flycatching,\" making short aerial dashes from a perch to snatch insects directly from the air, while the robin forages mainly by watching and pouncing on invertebrates exposed on open or recently disturbed ground, and the nightingale forages largely hidden within dense low vegetation rather than from an exposed perch at all.",[15,33,34],{},"Vocal ability is another notable shared strength across much of the family, though expressed differently by different species: the robin sings persistently across much of the year including winter, while the nightingale is famous specifically for an exceptionally rich and complex song delivered mainly at night — different strategies built on a broadly shared family talent for elaborate, learned song.",[10,36,38],{"id":37},"species-in-this-family","Species in this family",[15,40,41,42,47,48,52,53,47,57,60,61,47,65,68],{},"This atlas currently covers three members of Muscicapidae: the ",[43,44,46],"a",{"href":45},"\u002Fen\u002Fvidy-ptic\u002Fvidy\u002Fzaryanka","European robin"," (",[49,50,51],"em",{},"Erithacus rubecula","), a small, fiercely territorial garden favorite that sings through much of the year; the ",[43,54,56],{"href":55},"\u002Fen\u002Fvidy-ptic\u002Fvidy\u002Fsolovey","thrush nightingale",[49,58,59],{},"Luscinia luscinia","), a plainly plumaged but vocally legendary skulker of dense riverside thickets; and the ",[43,62,64],{"href":63},"\u002Fen\u002Fvidy-ptic\u002Fvidy\u002Fmukholovka-pestrushka","European pied flycatcher",[49,66,67],{},"Ficedula hypoleuca","), a boldly patterned long-distance migrant central to research on climate-driven migration mismatch. Further Muscicapidae species native to the atlas's covered regions will be added to the catalogue over time.",[10,70,72],{"id":71},"where-and-when-to-watch-this-family","Where and when to watch this family",[15,74,75],{},"Because the three species covered here differ so much in migratory strategy — the robin largely resident or short-distance migratory, the nightingale and pied flycatcher both long-distance migrants wintering in Africa — the best time to see members of this family varies considerably by species. Spring, when territorial song is at its peak and long-distance migrants have just returned, offers the richest window for encountering the full range of species covered here, from a robin singing in a garden hedge to a newly arrived nightingale reclaiming a favored riverside thicket.",{"title":77,"searchDepth":78,"depth":78,"links":79},"",2,[80,81,82,83],{"id":12,"depth":78,"text":13},{"id":27,"depth":78,"text":28},{"id":37,"depth":78,"text":38},{"id":71,"depth":78,"text":72},"\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fmuholovkovye.png","A family spanning the beloved orange-breasted robin, the vocally legendary nightingale, and the acrobatic pied flycatcher, unified more by ancestry and insect-catching habits than by appearance.","md",[88,91,94],{"q":89,"a":90},"How can a bright orange robin, a plain brown nightingale, and a black-and-white flycatcher belong to the same family?","Muscicapidae is defined by shared evolutionary ancestry and underlying anatomical and behavioral traits rather than a single plumage pattern — a fine, often flattened beak adapted for catching insects, a generally upright perching posture, and, in many species, some form of aerial or foliage-based insect hunting. Modern genetic research has reorganized this family significantly compared to older classifications, moving robins and nightingales here from what was once grouped more broadly with the thrush family.",{"q":92,"a":93},"What does 'flycatching' actually mean as a hunting technique?","True flycatching, best exemplified by the pied flycatcher, involves a bird watching from an exposed perch and making a short, fast aerial sally to snatch a flying insect directly out of the air before returning to a perch, a distinctive technique different from the more typical ground-foraging or foliage-gleaning strategies used by many other small songbirds, including some other members of this same family.",{"q":95,"a":96},"Why are robins and nightingales, which don't obviously 'catch flies,' grouped with flycatchers?","Despite behavioral differences — robins forage extensively on the ground and nightingales stay largely hidden in dense cover, neither relying primarily on classic aerial flycatching — genetic evidence places them firmly within this same broader family, underscoring that the family's unity rests on evolutionary relationships revealed by DNA rather than a shared, easily observed hunting style.","Photorealistic wildlife photography, a mixed woodland-edge composition showing a European robin and a European pied flycatcher male perched on adjacent low branches near a tangle of undergrowth, contrasting orange-breasted and black-and-white plumage visible together, sharp focus on the robin's eye in the foreground, soft-focus background of fresh spring woodland foliage with dappled light, soft bright morning light from camera-right, shallow depth of field, telephoto lens compression, 16:9",{},true,null,"family","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fmuholovkovye","13.07.2026",1,[106,110,114],{"label":107,"path":108,"description":109},"Thrushes (Turdidae)","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fdrozdovye","A closely related family that robins and nightingales were once grouped with",{"label":111,"path":112,"description":113},"Bird families","\u002Fsemeystva","Species grouped by taxonomic family",{"label":115,"path":116,"description":117},"Bird identifier","\u002Fopredelitel","Identify a bird you've seen by color, size, beak shape, habitat, and season",{"title":119,"description":120},"Old World Flycatchers and Chats (Muscicapidae) — traits","Muscicapidae: a family spanning the robin, nightingale, and pied flycatcher, unified by ancestry and insect-catching habits rather than appearance. Traits and species.",{"loc":102},"semeystva\u002Fmuholovkovye","zkdSKdzFzN_aPM8m4eRIWEuofZWg1JN9fbZLzNqcsWs",{"ru":99,"es":99},[126,131,136,141,146,151,157,162,167,172,177,182,183,188,193,198,203,209,214,219,224,229,234,237,242,247,252,257],{"title":127,"description":128,"path":129,"coverImage":130,"publishedAt":103,"order":100},"Buntings (Emberizidae)","The bunting family: sturdy, seed-eating farmland and open-country songbirds represented here by the vividly yellow-headed yellowhammer, one of Europe's most familiar hedgerow singers.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fovsyankovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fovsyankovye.png",{"title":132,"description":133,"path":134,"coverImage":135,"publishedAt":103,"order":100},"Crows, Ravens, and Allies (Corvidae)","The crow family: some of the most intelligent birds on Earth, from the tiny, sociable jackdaw to the giant common raven, united by cognitive sophistication and remarkable behavioral flexibility.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fvranovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fvranovye.png",{"title":137,"description":138,"path":139,"coverImage":140,"publishedAt":103,"order":100},"Cuckoos (Cuculidae)","The cuckoo family: slender, long-tailed birds best known for the common cuckoo's remarkable brood-parasitic lifestyle, tricking other species into raising its young.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fkukushkovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fkukushkovye.png",{"title":142,"description":143,"path":144,"coverImage":145,"publishedAt":103,"order":100},"Falcons (Falconidae)","The falcon family: fast, direct-flying birds of prey with a distinctive hooked, tomial-toothed beak, found on every continent except Antarctica.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fsokolinye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fsokolinye.png",{"title":147,"description":148,"path":149,"coverImage":150,"publishedAt":103,"order":100},"Finches (Fringillidae)","The true finch family: small, seed-eating songbirds with conical beaks ranging from the everyday chaffinch to the specialized, cone-prying red crossbill.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fvjurkovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fvjurkovye.png",{"title":152,"description":153,"path":154,"coverImage":155,"publishedAt":156,"order":100},"Grebes (Podicipedidae)","The grebe family: highly specialized freshwater diving birds with lobed toes, elaborate courtship displays, and chicks that ride on their parents' backs while swimming.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fpogankovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fpogankovye.png","07.08.2026",{"title":158,"description":159,"path":160,"coverImage":161,"publishedAt":103,"order":100},"Gulls (Laridae)","The gull family: adaptable, highly social waterbirds ranging from the small, brown-hooded black-headed gull to the larger, plain-billed common gull, equally at home on coasts and inland waters.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fchaykovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fchaykovye.png",{"title":163,"description":164,"path":165,"coverImage":166,"publishedAt":103,"order":100},"Hawks, Eagles, and Kites (Accipitridae)","The largest family of diurnal birds of prey, spanning soaring buzzards, forest-hunting goshawks, massive fish eagles, and scavenging kites united by a hooked beak and taloned feet.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fyastrebinye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fyastrebinye.png",{"title":168,"description":169,"path":170,"coverImage":171,"publishedAt":103,"order":100},"Herons (Ardeidae)","The heron family: patient, statuesque wetland hunters with a coiled S-shaped neck and dagger-like bill, epitomized by the grey heron's motionless watch at the water's edge.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Ftsaplevye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Ftsaplevye.png",{"title":173,"description":174,"path":175,"coverImage":176,"publishedAt":103,"order":100},"Hoopoes (Upupidae)","A small family built around a single unmistakable species, the Eurasian hoopoe, known for its fan-like crest, curved probing beak, and unusual glandular nest defenses.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fudodovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fudodovye.png",{"title":178,"description":179,"path":180,"coverImage":181,"publishedAt":103,"order":100},"Larks (Alaudidae)","The lark family: streaked, ground-nesting birds of open farmland and grassland, best known for the extraordinary sustained soaring song-flight of the Eurasian skylark.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fzhavoronkovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fzhavoronkovye.png",{"title":5,"description":85,"path":102,"coverImage":84,"publishedAt":103,"order":100},{"title":184,"description":185,"path":186,"coverImage":187,"publishedAt":103,"order":100},"Old World Orioles (Oriolidae)","A family of brilliantly colored but famously shy canopy songbirds, represented in Europe by the golden oriole, a bird more often identified by its fluting song than by sight.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fivolgovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fivolgovye.png",{"title":189,"description":190,"path":191,"coverImage":192,"publishedAt":103,"order":100},"Old World Sparrows (Passeridae)","The Old World sparrow family: small, sociable, seed-eating birds closely tied to human settlement, from the familiar house sparrow to its quieter, farmland-favoring relative the tree sparrow.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fvorobyinye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fvorobyinye.png",{"title":194,"description":195,"path":196,"coverImage":197,"publishedAt":103,"order":100},"Pigeons and Doves (Columbidae)","The pigeon family: stout-bodied, small-headed birds fed on crop milk as chicks, spanning the city-adapted rock dove and wood pigeon to the increasingly rare, long-distance migrant turtle dove.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fgolubinye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fgolubinye.png",{"title":199,"description":200,"path":201,"coverImage":202,"publishedAt":103,"order":100},"Plovers and Lapwings (Charadriidae)","The plover family: compact, large-eyed waders with short bills adapted for visual foraging, from the crested, iridescent northern lapwing to its smaller and plainer relatives.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Frzhankovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Frzhankovye.png",{"title":204,"description":205,"path":206,"coverImage":207,"publishedAt":208,"order":100},"Rails, Crakes, and Coots (Rallidae)","The rail family: laterally flattened marsh specialists built for slipping through dense reed beds, ranging from the secretive corncrake to the bold, aggressive Eurasian coot.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fpastushkovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fpastushkovye.png","17.08.2026",{"title":210,"description":211,"path":212,"coverImage":213,"publishedAt":103,"order":100},"Starlings (Sturnidae)","The starling family: gregarious, iridescent, highly vocal songbirds represented in Europe by the common starling and its spectacular winter murmurations.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fskvorcovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fskvorcovye.png",{"title":215,"description":216,"path":217,"coverImage":218,"publishedAt":103,"order":100},"Storks (Ciconiidae)","The stork family: massive, long-legged wading birds with long straight bills, epitomized by the white stork's huge rooftop nests and dramatic overland migration to Africa.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Faistovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Faistovye.png",{"title":220,"description":221,"path":222,"coverImage":223,"publishedAt":103,"order":100},"Swallows and Martins (Hirundinidae)","The swallow family: sleek, long-winged aerial insect-hunters that spend most of their waking lives on the wing, from the red-throated barn swallow to the white-rumped house martin.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Flastochkovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Flastochkovye.png",{"title":225,"description":226,"path":227,"coverImage":228,"publishedAt":103,"order":100},"Swifts (Apodidae)","The swift family: extreme aerial specialists that spend nearly their entire lives in flight, closer in ancestry to hummingbirds than to the swallows they superficially resemble.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fstrizhinye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fstrizhinye.png",{"title":230,"description":231,"path":232,"coverImage":233,"publishedAt":103,"order":100},"Sylvia Warblers (Sylviidae)","A family of small, plainly plumaged, densely-vegetation-loving warblers prized far more for their voices than their looks, exemplified by the richly singing Eurasian blackcap.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fslavkovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fslavkovye.png",{"title":107,"description":235,"path":108,"coverImage":236,"publishedAt":103,"order":100},"The thrush family: medium-sized, powerful-singing ground foragers, from the glossy black common blackbird to the heavily spotted song thrush and the gregarious, flocking fieldfare.","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fdrozdovye.png",{"title":238,"description":239,"path":240,"coverImage":241,"publishedAt":103,"order":100},"Tits (Paridae)","The tit family: small, acrobatic, cavity-nesting songbirds from the bold, dominant great tit to the tiny, cache-obsessed coal tit, among the most familiar and intensively studied garden birds in Europe.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fsinitsevye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fsinitsevye.png",{"title":243,"description":244,"path":245,"coverImage":246,"publishedAt":103,"order":100},"Typical Owls (Strigidae)","The largest owl family, spanning the familiar tawny owl, tufted long-eared owl, and the giant Eurasian eagle-owl, united by forward-facing eyes, silent flight, and mostly nocturnal habits.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fsovinye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fsovinye.png",{"title":248,"description":249,"path":250,"coverImage":251,"publishedAt":103,"order":100},"Wagtails and Pipits (Motacillidae)","A family of slender, long-tailed, ground-foraging songbirds best exemplified by the constantly tail-bobbing white wagtail, equally at home beside a river or in a busy town square.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Ftryasoguzkovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Ftryasoguzkovye.png",{"title":253,"description":254,"path":255,"coverImage":256,"publishedAt":103,"order":100},"Waterfowl (Anatidae)","The waterfowl family: ducks, geese, and swans, unified by webbed feet, waterproof plumage, and a broad flattened bill, from the familiar mallard to the massive mute swan.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Futinye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Futinye.png",{"title":258,"description":259,"path":260,"coverImage":261,"publishedAt":103,"order":100},"Woodpeckers (Picidae)","The woodpecker family: powerful, tree-climbing excavators built to hammer into wood, from the widespread black-and-white great spotted woodpecker to the crow-sized black woodpecker.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fdyatlovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fdyatlovye.png",[],[264,265,267],{"label":107,"path":108,"description":109,"coverImage":236},{"label":111,"path":112,"description":113,"coverImage":266},"\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Findex.png",{"label":115,"path":116,"description":117,"coverImage":268},"\u002Fimages\u002Fopredelitel\u002Findex.png",1787114560914]