Schiffornis is a genus of South American bird in the family Tityridae. It has traditionally been placed in the manakin family, but evidence strongly suggest it is better placed in Tityridae, where now placed by SACC. In addition to schiffornis, they are sometimes referred to as mourners; a name shared with members of the genera Laniocera, Laniisoma and Rhytipterna.

Taxonomy

The genus Schiffornis was introduced in 1854 by the French naturalist Charles Lucien Bonaparte. Although Bonaparte listed three species in his new genus, two of these were undescribed and therefore nomina nuda. The remaining species, Muscicapa turdina Wied-Neuwied, 1831, the brown-winged schiffornis, becomes the type species of the genus by virtual monotypy. The genus name Schiffornis combines the last name of the German physiologist Moritz Schiff with the Ancient Greek ορνις/ornis, ορνιθος/ornithos meaning "bird".

Species

The genus contains seven species.

ImageScientific nameCommon nameDistribution
Schiffornis majorVarzea schiffornisBolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru; also regions of Venezuela
Schiffornis turdinaBrown-winged schiffornisAmazonia and eastern Brazil.
Schiffornis stenorhynchaRusset-winged schiffornisfrom Panama to northern Colombia and northern Venezuela.
Schiffornis aeneaFoothill schifforniscentral Ecuador and northern Peru
Schiffornis veraepacisNorthern schiffornissoutheast Mexico to western Colombia and Venezuela.
Schiffornis olivaceaGuianan schiffornissoutheast Venezuela to Guyana and north central Brazil.
Schiffornis virescensGreenish schiffornissouthern Brazil, also eastern Paraguay, and extreme northeastern Argentina