Empidonax

The genus Empidonax is a group of small insect-eating passerine birds in the tyrant flycatcher family, the Tyrannidae that are found in North and South America.

==Taxonomy== The genus Empidonax was introduced in 1855 by the German ornithologist Jean Cabanis to accommodate a single species, Empidonax pusillus. This name is now considered to be a junior synonym of Platyrhynchos virescens that had been introduced in 1818 by Louis Pierre Vieillot for the Acadian flycatcher. The genus name combines the Ancient Greek εμπις/empis, εμπιδος/empidos meaning "gnat" or "mosquito" with αναξ/anax, ανακτος/anaktos meaning "lord" or "master". A large molecular phylogenetic study of the tyrant flycatcher family published in 2020 found that Empidonax was sister to the genus Sayornis containing the three phoebes.