Genus
Sayornis (Phoebes)
The genus Sayornis is a small group of medium-sized insect-eating birds, known as phoebes, in the tyrant flycatcher family Tyrannidae. The genus name Sayornis is constructed from the specific part of Charles Lucien Bonaparte’s name for Say’s phoebe, Muscicapa saya, and Ancient Greek ornis, “bird”. The English Phoebe is a name for the Roman moon-goddess Diana.