What is "batis"

Batis \Batis\ n. A small genus of plants constituting the family Batidaceae: low straggling dioecious shrubs.

Syn: genus Batis.

n. Any of several passerine birds in the genus ''Batis'', related to the wattle-eyes.

Batis (turtleweed, saltwort, beachwort, or pickleweed) is a genus of two species of flowering plants, the only genus in the family Bataceae. They are halophytic (salt tolerant) plants, native to the coastal salt marshes of warm temperate and tropical America (B. maritima) and tropical Australasia (B. argillicola).

Batis may refer to:

• Batis (plant), a genus of flowering, salt-tolerant plants
• Batis (bird), a genus of birds in the wattle-eye family
• Batis (commander), an ancient military commander
• Batis (lens), a series of full-frame Zeiss lenses for Sony's E-mount
• Batis of Lampsacus, an Epicurean philosopher
• Batis an invalid genus of moths

Batis (pronounced BAT-iss) is a genus of passerine birds in the wattle-eye family. Its species are resident in Africa south of the Sahara. They were previously classed as a subfamily of the Old World flycatcher family, Muscicapidae.

They are small stout insect-eating birds, usually found in open forests or bush. The nest is a small neat cup low in a tree or bush. They hunt by flycatching, or by taking prey from the ground like a shrike.

Batis species are strikingly patterned, typically with a grey crown, black eye mask, dark back, and paler underparts, often with a coloured or black breast band and white on the throat which contrasts strongly with the black eye stripe. Male and female plumages usually differ.

The song is typically a descending triple whistle.

Batis was a commander of the city of Gaza in the Achaemenid Empire during the 4th century BC and an antagonist of Alexander the Great during his eastern campaigns. He was executed after a lengthened siege for refusing to submit to the Macedonians. Reportedly Batis was dragged behind a chariot around his city walls in the manner as Hector had been by Alexander's hero Achilles, except that Hector had already been dead.