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''Phedina'' is a small genus of passerine birds in the swallow family. It has two members, the Mascarene martin, ''Phedina borbonica'', which has two subspecies in Madagascar and the Mascarene Islands respectively, and Brazza's martin, ''P. brazzae'', which breeds in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the Republic of the Congo, and northern Angola. The nearest relative of the ''Phedina'' martins is the banded martin, ''Riparia cincta'', which resembles Brazza's martin in nesting habits and vocalisations. Both ''Phedina'' martins have grey-brown upperparts and paler, heavily streaked underparts. Adult Mascarene martins are in length, and Brazza's martin is smaller at long. Both species have brown wings, dark brown eyes and a black bill and legs. Juvenile birds have more diffuse breast streaking and pale edges to the feathers of the back and wings than the adults. Both species can be distinguished from most other swallows in their breeding or wintering ranges by the streaking on the underparts and lack of a deeply forked tail. The Mascarene martin has a warbled ''siri-liri siri-liri'' song given in flight, but Brazza's martin has quite different vocalisations, its song consisting of a series of short notes followed by a complex buzz and sometimes some final clicks. Both species typically breed in small groups: the Mascarene martin builds a shallow cup nest of twigs and coarse plant material with a soft inner lining, whereas Brazza's martin makes a small heap of soft material such as feathers or dry grass at the end of a typically 50-cm (20-in) tunnel in a riverbank. The normal clutch is three eggs for Brazza's martin, two for Mascarene martins on Madagascar and Mauritius, and two or three for those on Réunion. As with other swallows, both martins feed on flying insects, hunting in single-species groups or with other swallows and swifts. Brazza's martin may be hunted by humans, and both species may be infected with a variety of parasites. These swallows may be affected by poor weather when breeding, but neither appears to be under serious threat. The small islands which are the home of the Mascarene martin subspecies ''P. b. borbonica'' may be devastated by cyclones, which have the potential to cause severe temporary losses to the populations on Mauritius and Réunion. The legal protection afforded to the ''Phedina'' martins varies with jurisdiction, and ranges from none for Mascarene martins on Réunion to special protection for the same species on Madagascar. The Brazza's martin is not a protected species anywhere in its range. ==Taxonomy== The French biologist Charles Lucien Bonaparte created the genus ''Phedina'' in 1855 to accommodate the Mascarene martin, previously ''Hirundo borbonica'', which he considered to be sufficiently different from other ''Hirundo'' species to merit its own genus. The only other member of the genus is the Brazza's martin, ''P. brazzae'', first described by French zoologist Émile Oustalet in 1886. The genus name is derived from the Greek ''phaios'' (φαιός) "brown" and the Italian ''rondine'' "swallow".〔Jobling (2010) p. 302.〕 The species name for the Mascarene martin refers to the Île de Bourbon (Réunion),〔Jobling (2010) p. 74.〕〔Gmelin (1789) p. (1017 ).〕 and that for Brazza's martin commemorates Italian-born French explorer Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza, later to become governor-general of the French Congo,〔Jobling (2010) p. 76.〕 who collected the type specimen.〔Sharpe & Wyatt (1894) p. (207 ).〕 The ''Phedina'' species are members of the swallow family of birds, and are classed as members of the Hirundininae subfamily, which comprises all swallows and martins except the very distinctive river martins. DNA sequence studies suggest that there are three major groupings within the Hirundininae, broadly correlating with the type of nest built. These groups are the "core martins", including burrowing species like the sand martin; the "nest-adopters", which are birds like the tree swallow that utilise natural cavities; and the "mud nest builders", such as the barn swallow, which build a nest from mud. Based on the DNA analysis, the ''Phedina'' species are placed in the "core martins". The genus ''Phedina'' is thought to be an early offshoot from the main swallow lineage, although their striped plumage suggests a distant relationship with several streaked African ''Hirundo'' species.〔Turner & Rose (1989) p. 8.〕〔Turner & Rose (1989) pp. 70–72.〕 In the past it has sometimes been suggested that Brazza's martin should be moved to its own genus ''Phedinopsis'' due to the significant differences in vocalisations and nest type from its relative.〔 The nearest relative of the ''Phedina'' martins is the banded martin, ''Riparia cincta'', which appears not to be closely related to the other members of its current genus and resembles Brazza's martin in nesting habits and vocalisations.〔 The current Association of European Rarities Committees (AERC)-recommended practice is to move the banded martin to its own genus as ''Neophedina cincta'', rather than to merge it into ''Phedina'', since the banded martin's larger size, different bill and nostril shape and non-colonial nesting are differences from the other ''Phedina species''.〔Crochet ''et al.'' (2011) p. 4.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Phedina」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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