Attila (bird)

Attila
	Grey-hooded attila
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Tyrannidae
Genus:	Attila; Lesson, RP, 1831
Type species
	Attila brasiliensis = Muscicapa spadicea; Lesson, 1831
Synonyms
	Dasycephala

Attila is a genus of tropical passerine birds, the attilas. They belong to the tyrant flycatcher family. The species in this genus have large heads and hooked bills; they are markedly predatory and aggressive for their size – hence the scientific and common names, which refer to Attila the Hun.

Taxonomy

The genus Attila was introduced in 1831 by the French naturalist René Lesson to accommodate a single species, the bright-rumped attila, which is therefore considered as the type species.^[2]^[3] The genus name is from Attila the Hun who attacked Rome and Orléans in the 5th century.^[4]^[5]

The genus contains seven species:^[6]

Scientific name	Common Name	Distribution
Attila phoenicurus	Rufous-tailed attila	southern Paraguay and Brazil; also extreme northeast Argentina, Bolivia and southern Venezuela
Attila cinnamomeus	Cinnamon attila	Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana; also Amazonian Ecuador, Peru, and regions of Bolivia.
Attila torridus	Ochraceous attila	Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru
Attila citriniventris	Citron-bellied attila	Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.
Attila bolivianus	White-eyed attila	Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Peru, and possibly Ecuador.
Attila rufus	Grey-hooded attila	Brazil.
Attila spadiceus	Bright-rumped attila	northwestern Mexico to western Ecuador, Bolivia and southeastern Brazil, and on Trinidad

^ "Tyrannidae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
^ Lesson, René (1831). Traité d'Ornithologie, ou Tableau Méthodique (in French). Vol. 1. Paris: F.G. Levrault. p. 360 (livr. 5). Published in 8 livraisons between 1830 and 1831. For the publication date see: Dickinson, E.C.; Overstreet, L.K.; Dowsett, R.J.; Bruce, M.D. (2011). Priority! The Dating of Scientific Names in Ornithology: a Directory to the literature and its reviewers. Northampton, UK: Aves Press. p. 119. ISBN 978-0-9568611-1-5.
^ Traylor, Melvin A. Jr, ed. (1979). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 8. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 186.
^ Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 60. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
^ Susan Myers (25 October 2022). The Bird Name Book : A History of English Bird Names. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-23685-8.
^ Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (January 2023). "Tyrant flycatchers". IOC World Bird List Version 13.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 21 March 2023.