Fairy flycatcher

Stenostiridae, or the Fairy Flycatchers, is a family of small passerine birds proposed as a result of recent discoveries in molecular systematics (Beresford et al. 2005). They are commonly referred to as stenostirid warblers.

This new clade is named after the Fairy Warbler, a distinct species placed formerly in the Old World flycatchers. This is united with the "sylvioid flycatchers": the genus Elminia (formerly placed in the Monarchinae) and the closely allied former Old World flycatcher genus Culicicapa. (Beresford et al. 2005, Fuchs et al. 2006)

Its genera and species are:


 * Genus Stenostira – Fairy "Warbler" or Fairy "Flycatcher"


 * Genus Elminia – includes Trochocercus
 * African Blue Flycatcher, Elminia longicauda
 * White-tailed Blue Flycatcher, Elminia albicauda
 * Dusky Crested-flycatcher, Elminia nigromitrata
 * White-bellied Crested-flycatcher, Elminia albiventris
 * White-tailed Crested-flycatcher, Elminia albonotata


 * Genus Culicicapa
 * Grey-headed Canary-flycatcher, Culicicapa ceylonensis
 * Citrine Canary-flycatcher, Culicicapa helianthea

Other African or Asian species might conceivably fall into this novel clade. The tit-flycatchers (Myioparus) are apparently true flycatchers morphologically somewhat convergent to Stenostira (Jønsson & Fjeldså 2006). The Stenostiridae as a whole are related to penduline tits, titmice and chickadees. All these appear to be closer to the Sylvioidea than to other Passerida, but this is not robustly supported by the available data and they might constitute a distinct, more basal superfamily.(Alström et al. 2006, Beresford et al. 2005, Barker et al. 2004)