Palmchat

Palmchat, Dulus dominicus is a species of passerine in the Bombycilloidea superfamily. It is the only member of its family and genus.

Taxonomy
Most modern authors consider the Palmchat to be allied to the waxwings (Bombycillidae) and the silky-flycatchers (Ptilogonatidae), although there is ongoing debate as to whether it is sufficiently distinct taxonomically to merit independent family status.

There are references to the Palmchat in the 16th century. It was formally classified by Linnaeus in 1766, who included the Palmchat with the euphonias (Euphonia) in his genus Tanagra. It was subsequently it was placed in the silky-flycatchers and waxwings in a family called Ampelidae. This treatment remained the consensus with most authors until 1904, when R. Ridgway split the group into three separate families: Bombycillidae, Ptiligonatidae and Dulidae. Many twenty-century taxonomists continued to follow this classification, although some treated the three families as subfamilies with in the Bombycillidae family. Few authors included the Hypocolius in a fourth bombycillid subfamily.