Old World warbler

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Old World warblers are a large group of birds formerly grouped together in the bird family

Timaliidae and the parrotbills, are retained in a much smaller family Sylviidae
.

Characteristics

Most Old World warblers are of generally undistinguished appearance, though some Asian species are boldly marked. The sexes are often identical, but may be clearly distinct, notably in the genus

Sylvia. They are of small to medium size, varying from 9 to 16 centimetres in length, with a small, finely pointed bill. Almost all species are primarily insectivorous, although some will also eat fruit, nectar, or tiny seeds.[1]

The majority of species are

cup-shaped nests in dense vegetation. They lay between two and six eggs per clutch, depending on species. Both parents typically help in raising the young, which are able to fly at around two weeks of age.[1]

Systematics

In the late 20th century, the Sylviidae were thought to unite nearly 300 small

wastebin taxon in the history of ornithology.[citation needed] By the early 20th century, about every insectivorous Old World
"songster" known to science had at one point been placed therein, and most continued to be so.

Only after the mid-20th century did the dismantling of the "pan-Muscicapidae" begin in earnest. However, the Sylviidae remained a huge family, with few clear patterns of relationships recognisable. Though by no means as diverse as the

American Ornithologists' Union includes the gnatcatchers, as subfamily Polioptilinae, in the Sylviidae.[2]

Sibley & Ahlquist (1990) united the "Old World warblers" with the babblers and other

form taxon which collected entirely unrelated songbirds. Consequently, the monophyly
of the individual "songster" lineages themselves was increasingly being questioned.

More recently, analysis of

DNA sequence data has provided information on the Sylvioidea. Usually, the scope of the clade was vastly underestimated and only one or two specimens were sampled for each presumed "family". Minor or little-known groups such as the parrotbills were left out entirely (e.g. Ericson & Johansson 2003, Barker et al. 2004). These could only confirm that the Cisticolidae were indeed distinct, and suggested that bulbuls
(Pycnonotidae) were apparently the closest relatives of a group containing Sylviidae, Timaliidae, cisticolids and white-eyes.

In 2003, a study of Timaliidae relationships (Cibois 2003a) using

Paradoxornithidae (roughly, "puzzling birds") of unclear affiliations also were part of what apparently was a well distinctive clade
.

Cibois suggested that the Sylviidae should officially be suppressed by the

Megaluridae) to better reflect the evolutionary
history of the sylvioid group.

The Sylviidae, in turn, receive several taxa from other families. Nonetheless, the now-monophyletic family has shrunk by nearly 80% for the time being, now containing 55 species in 10 genera at least. It is entirely likely however that with further research, other taxa from those still incertae sedis among its former contents, the Timaliidae, the Cisticolinae, or even the Muscicapidae will be moved into this group.

Species

Family Sylviidae sensu stricto

True warblers (or sylviid warblers) and parrotbills. A fairly diverse group of smallish taxa with longish tails. Mostly in Asia, to a lesser extent in Africa. A few range into Europe; one

monotypic genus on the west coast of North America
.

  • Genus
    Sylvia
     – typical warblers (6 species)
  • Genus Curruca – 27 species. Formerly in Sylvia (Sylviidae)[3]
    • Barred warbler
      , Curruca nisoria
    • Layard's warbler
      , Curruca layardi
    • Banded parisoma
      , Curruca boehmi
    • Chestnut-vented warbler
      , Curruca suboerulea
    • Desert whitethroat
      , Curruca minula
    • Lesser whitethroat
      , Curruca curruca
    • Hume's whitethroat
      , Curruca althaea
    • Brown parisoma
      , Curruca lugens
    • Yemen warbler
      , Curruca buryi
    • Arabian warbler
      , Curruca leucomelaena
    • Western orphean warbler
      , Curruca hortensis
    • Eastern orphean warbler
      , Curruca crassirostris
    • African desert warbler
      , Curruca deserti
    • Asian desert warbler
      , Curruca nana
    • Tristram's warbler
      , Curruca deserticola
    • Menetries's warbler
      , Curruca mystacea
    • Rüppell's warbler
      , Curruca ruppeli
    • Cyprus warbler
      , Curruca melanothorax
    • Sardinian warbler
      , Curruca melanocephala
    • Western subalpine warbler
      , Curruca iberiae
    • Moltoni's warbler
      , Curruca subalpina
    • Eastern subalpine warbler
      , Curruca cantillans
    • Common whitethroat
      , Curruca communis
    • Spectacled warbler
      , Curruca conspicillata
    • Marmora's warbler
      , Curruca sarda
    • Dartford warbler
      , Curruca undata
    • Balearic warbler
      , Curruca balearica

Moved to family
Paradoxornithidae[3]

Chrysomma sinense, the yellow-eyed babbler, used to be considered a sylviid closely related to parrotbills
.

Moved to family Pellorneidae

  • Genus Graminicola
    • Rufous-rumped grassbird ("-babbler") Graminicola bengalensis

Moved to family Cisticolidae

  • Genus
    rufous-warblers
    • Black-capped rufous-warbler
      , Bathmocercus cerviniventris
    • Black-faced rufous-warbler
      , Bathmocercus rufus
  • Genus
    Sceptomycter
     – sometimes merged into Bathmocercus. Cisticolidae?
    • Mrs Moreau's warbler
      , Sceptomycter winifredae
  • Genus
    Poliolais – Cisticolidae or more basal like bulbuls
    ?
  • Two to 14 of the 15 tailorbirds

Moved to family Acrocephalidae

Icterine warbler, Hippolais icterina

Marsh and tree warblers or acrocephalid warblers. Usually rather large "warblers", most are olivaceous brown above with much yellow to beige below. Usually in open woodland, reed beds or tall grass. Mainly southern Asia to western Europe and surroundings ranging far into

Pacific
, some in Africa. The genus limits are seriously in need of revision; either most species are moved into Acrocephalus, or the latter is split up though there is presently insufficient knowledge as to how.

  • Genus Acrocephalus – marsh warblers (about 35 species)
  • Genus Hippolais – tree warblers (8 species)
  • Genus Chloropeta – yellow warblers (3 species)
  • Genus
    extinct
    )

Moved to
Malagasy warblers

See Cibois et al. (2001)

Moved to family Locustellidae

fernbird
– probably belongs to the Locustellidae

Grass warblers and allies. Mid-sized and usually long-tailed species; sometimes strongly patterned but generally very drab in overall colouration. Often forage on the ground. Old World and into Australian region, centred on the Indian Ocean; possibly also one species in South America. A not too robustly supported clade that requires further study.

  • Genus Bradypterus – megalurid bush-warblers (11 species)
  • Genus
    Locustella
     – grass warblers (more than 20 species)
  • Genus
    Megalurus
     – typical grassbirds (10 species)
  • Genus
    Amphilais
     – grey emutail
  • Genus
    Elaphrornis
     – Sri Lanka bush warbler
  • Genus Schoenicola – (2 species)
  • Genus
    Buettikoferella
     – buff-banded thicketbird
  • Genus
    Chaetornis
     – bristled grassbird

The black-capped donacobius, Donacobius atricapillus, which was long considered an aberrant wren or mockingbird is apparently quite closely related, and might possibly be considered the only American species of this family.

Moved to family Cettiidae

Typical bush warblers and relatives or cettiid warblers. Another group of generally very drab species, tend to be smaller and shorter-tailed than Megaluridae. Usually frequent shrubland and undergrowth. Continental Asia, and surrounding regions, ranging into Africa and southern Europe.

uguisubari
.

Moved to family Aegithalidae

Moved to family
Phylloscopidae

Leaf warblers or phylloscopes. A group very variable in size, often vivid green colouration above and yellow below, or more subdued with greyish-green to greyish-brown plumage. Catch food on the wing fairly often. Eurasia, ranging into Wallacea and Africa.

Wood warbler, Phylloscopus sibilatrix

Moved to family Macrosphenidae

African warblers. Also "Sphenoeacus group". An assemblage of usually species-poor and apparently rather ancient "odd warblers" from Africa. Ecomorphologically quite variable. Monophyly requires confirmation.

"Sylviidae" incertae sedis

Taxa that have not been studied. Most are likely to belong to one of

Megaluridae
. These taxa are listed in the sequence used in recent years.

Not in Sylvioidea

Entirely unrelated songbirds hitherto placed in Sylviidae

See also

  • List of extinct birds

Notes

  1. ^
    ISBN 1-85391-186-0
    .
  2. ^ AOU: Check-list of North American Birds Archived 2007-12-11 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^
    S2CID 53216358
    .
  4. S2CID 86085338
    .
  5. S2CID 4720300
    .
  6. PMID 18619860
    .
  7. PMID 16182572
    .

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sylviidae.
Wikispecies has information related to Sylvioidea.
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