Typical warbler
Encyclopedia
The typical warblers are small bird
s belonging to the genus
Sylvia in the "Old World warbler" (or sylviid warbler) family
Sylviidae
. There are 28 species currently included in the genus, including five species formerly treated in the genus Parisoma, a treatment which left Sylvia paraphyletic
. Typical warblers occur in the temperate
to tropical regions of Europe
, western and central Asia
, and Africa
, with the highest species diversity centred around the Mediterranean.
They are strongly built, with stouter legs and a slightly thicker bill than many other warblers, and range in size from 11 cm length and 7 g weight (African Desert Warbler) up to 17 cm length and 36 g weight (Barred Warbler). The plumage
is based around varying shades of grey and brown, usuall darker above and paler below, with bluish or pinkish tones in several species; several also have orange-brown or rufous fringed wing feathers. The tail is square-ended in most, slightly rounded in a few, and in several species has white sides. Many of the species show some sexual dimorphism
, with distinctive male and female plumage
s, with the males in many having black or bright grey on the heads, replaced by brown, brownish-grey or similar dusky colours in females; about a third of the species also have a conspicuous red eye ring in males. Species breeding in cool temperate regions are strongly migratory
, while most of those in warmer regions are partially migratory or resident. They are active warblers usually associated with open woodland, scrub, hedges or shrubs. Their diet is largely insectivorous, though several species also eat fruit extensively, mainly small berries such as elder and ivy
, particularly from late summer to late winter; one species (Blackcap) also frequently takes a wide variety of human-provided foods on birdtables in winter.
containing also the parrotbill
s and some taxa formerly considered to be Old World babbler
s. The other "Old World warblers" have been moved to their own families, entirely redelimiting the Sylviidae. Because of their distinctness, the Sylvia group might be considered a subfamily Sylviinae, but several Old World warblers are pending restudy with the new data. In particular the relationship to the African Hill Babbler
(Pseudoalcippe abyssinica) and the Chinese Hill Warbler (Rhopophilus pekinensis) are not entirely resolved but certainly more distant.
The genus as currently circumscribed includes the following species:
The relationships between all the species are not yet fully resolved; the list above follows the IOC list order.
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s belonging to the genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
Sylvia in the "Old World warbler" (or sylviid warbler) family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Sylviidae
Sylviidae
Sylviidae is a family of passerine birds that was part of an assemblage known as the Old World warblers. The family was formerly a wastebin taxon with over 400 species of bird in over 70 genera. The family was poorly defined with many characteristics shared with other families...
. There are 28 species currently included in the genus, including five species formerly treated in the genus Parisoma, a treatment which left Sylvia paraphyletic
Paraphyly
A group of taxa is said to be paraphyletic if the group consists of all the descendants of a hypothetical closest common ancestor minus one or more monophyletic groups of descendants...
. Typical warblers occur in the temperate
Temperate
In geography, temperate or tepid latitudes of the globe lie between the tropics and the polar circles. The changes in these regions between summer and winter are generally relatively moderate, rather than extreme hot or cold...
to tropical regions of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, western and central Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, and Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, with the highest species diversity centred around the Mediterranean.
They are strongly built, with stouter legs and a slightly thicker bill than many other warblers, and range in size from 11 cm length and 7 g weight (African Desert Warbler) up to 17 cm length and 36 g weight (Barred Warbler). The plumage
Plumage
Plumage refers both to the layer of feathers that cover a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage vary between species and subspecies and can also vary between different age classes, sexes, and season. Within species there can also be a...
is based around varying shades of grey and brown, usuall darker above and paler below, with bluish or pinkish tones in several species; several also have orange-brown or rufous fringed wing feathers. The tail is square-ended in most, slightly rounded in a few, and in several species has white sides. Many of the species show some sexual dimorphism
Sexual dimorphism
Sexual dimorphism is a phenotypic difference between males and females of the same species. Examples of such differences include differences in morphology, ornamentation, and behavior.-Examples:-Ornamentation / coloration:...
, with distinctive male and female plumage
Plumage
Plumage refers both to the layer of feathers that cover a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage vary between species and subspecies and can also vary between different age classes, sexes, and season. Within species there can also be a...
s, with the males in many having black or bright grey on the heads, replaced by brown, brownish-grey or similar dusky colours in females; about a third of the species also have a conspicuous red eye ring in males. Species breeding in cool temperate regions are strongly migratory
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
, while most of those in warmer regions are partially migratory or resident. They are active warblers usually associated with open woodland, scrub, hedges or shrubs. Their diet is largely insectivorous, though several species also eat fruit extensively, mainly small berries such as elder and ivy
Ivy
Ivy, plural ivies is a genus of 12–15 species of evergreen climbing or ground-creeping woody plants in the family Araliaceae, native to western, central and southern Europe, Macaronesia, northwestern Africa and across central-southern Asia east to Japan and Taiwan.-Description:On level ground they...
, particularly from late summer to late winter; one species (Blackcap) also frequently takes a wide variety of human-provided foods on birdtables in winter.
Systematics
The typical warblers are now known to form a major lineage in a cladeClade
A clade is a group consisting of a species and all its descendants. In the terms of biological systematics, a clade is a single "branch" on the "tree of life". The idea that such a "natural group" of organisms should be grouped together and given a taxonomic name is central to biological...
containing also the parrotbill
Parrotbill
The parrotbills are a group of peculiar birds native to East and Southeast Asia, though feral populations are known from elsewhere. They are generally small, long-tailed birds which inhabit reedbeds and similar habitat. They feed mainly on seeds, e.g. of grasses, to which their bill, as the name...
s and some taxa formerly considered to be Old World babbler
Old World babbler
The Old World babblers or timaliids are a large family of mostly Old World passerine birds. They are rather diverse in size and coloration, but are characterised by soft fluffy plumage. These are birds of tropical areas, with the greatest variety in Southeast Asia and the Indian Subcontinent...
s. The other "Old World warblers" have been moved to their own families, entirely redelimiting the Sylviidae. Because of their distinctness, the Sylvia group might be considered a subfamily Sylviinae, but several Old World warblers are pending restudy with the new data. In particular the relationship to the African Hill Babbler
African Hill Babbler
The African Hill Babbler is a species of bird in the Sylviidae family, in the monotypic genus Pseudoalcippe....
(Pseudoalcippe abyssinica) and the Chinese Hill Warbler (Rhopophilus pekinensis) are not entirely resolved but certainly more distant.
The genus as currently circumscribed includes the following species:
- Eurasian BlackcapBlackcapThe Blackcap is a common and widespread sylviid warbler which breeds throughout temperate Europe, western Asia and northwestern Africa, and winters from northwestern Europe south to tropical Africa...
Sylvia atricapilla - Garden WarblerGarden WarblerThe Garden Warbler, Sylvia borin, is a common and widespread typical warbler which breeds throughout northern and temperate Europe into western Asia. This small passerine bird is strongly migratory, and winters in central and southern Africa...
Sylvia borin - Barred WarblerBarred WarblerThe Barred Warbler is a typical warbler which breeds across temperate regions of central and eastern Europe and western and central Asia. This passerine bird is strongly migratory, and winters in tropical eastern Africa....
, Sylvia nisoria - Lesser WhitethroatLesser WhitethroatThe Lesser Whitethroat is a common and widespread typical warbler which breeds in temperate Europe, except the southwest, and in western and central Asia. This small passerine bird is strongly migratory, wintering in Africa just south of the Sahara, Arabia and India.Unlike many typical warblers,...
Sylvia curruca - Desert Whitethroat Sylvia minula
- Hume's WhitethroatHume's WhitethroatHume's Whitethroat Sylvia althaea is a species of typical warbler. Until recently, it was considered conspecific with the Lesser Whitethroat; today these are seen as members of a superspecies which also includes the Desert Whitethroat...
Sylvia althaea - Western Orphean Warbler Sylvia hortensis
- Eastern Orphean WarblerEastern Orphean WarblerThe Eastern Orphean Warbler, Sylvia hortensis crassirostris, is a typical warbler of the genus Sylvia. This species occurs in summer around the Mediterranean, through the Balkans via Turkey, the Caucasus and surrounding regions to Central Asia. It is migratory, wintering in sub-Saharan Africa...
Sylvia crassirostris - Arabian Warbler Sylvia leucomelaena
- Asian Desert WarblerAsian Desert WarblerThe Asian Desert Warbler Sylvia nana is a typical warbler which breeds in the deserts of central and western Asia and the extreme east of Europe , and migrating to similar habitats in southwestern Asia and the far northeast of Africa in winter...
Sylvia nana - African Desert WarblerAfrican Desert WarblerThe African Desert Warbler Sylvia deserti is a typical warbler which breeds in the deserts of northwestern Africa south of the Atlas Mountains from southern Morocco east to western Libya and south to Mali and Niger. It winters in the same area, and does not migrate other than short distances...
Sylvia deserti - Common Whitethroat Sylvia communis
- Dartford WarblerDartford WarblerThe Dartford Warbler, Sylvia undata, is a typical warbler from the warmer parts of western Europe, and northwestern Africa. Its breeding range lies west of a line from southern England to the heel of Italy...
Sylvia undata - Marmora's WarblerMarmora's WarblerMarmora's Warbler, Sylvia sarda, is a typical warbler, genus Sylvia. It breeds on Mediterranean islands, typically including Corsica and Sardinia. The smaller Balearic Islands subspecies is increasingly given specific status as Balearic Warbler, Sylvia balearica...
Sylvia sarda - Balearic Warbler Sylvia balearica
- Tristram's WarblerTristram's WarblerThe Tristram's Warbler is a species of Old World warbler in the Sylviidae family.It is found in Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia, and Western Sahara.Its natural habitat is subtropical dry shrubland.-References:...
Sylvia deserticola - Spectacled WarblerSpectacled WarblerThe Spectacled Warbler is a species in the typical warbler genus Sylvia. It breeds in north west Africa, southwest Europe from Iberia to Italy, and then further east on the eastern Mediterranean islands and coastal regions. It is mainly resident in Africa, but other populations migrate to winter...
Sylvia conspicillata - Subalpine WarblerSubalpine WarblerThe Subalpine Warbler, Sylvia cantillans, is a small typical warbler which breeds in the southernmost areas of Europe and northwest Africa. This small passerine bird is migratory, and winters along the southern edge of the Sahara...
Sylvia cantillans - Moltoni's Warbler Sylvia moltonii
- Sardinian WarblerSardinian WarblerThe Sardinian Warbler, Sylvia melanocephala, is a common and widespread typical warbler from the Mediterranean region.-Description:...
Sylvia melanocephala - Menetries's WarblerMenetries's WarblerMenetries's Warbler or Ménétries's Warbler is a small passerine bird of south-west Asia belonging to the genus Sylvia. The name of the species commemorates Édouard Ménétries, the French zoologist who described the species in 1832...
Sylvia mystacea - Rüppell's WarblerRüppell's WarblerThe Rüppell's Warbler is a typical warbler of the genus Sylvia. It breeds in Greece, Turkey and neighbouring islands. It is migratory, wintering in north east Africa. This is a rare vagrant to western Europe. The name is occasionally cited as "Rueppell's Warbler".It is a typical "sylvia" warbler,...
Sylvia rueppelli - Cyprus WarblerCyprus WarblerThe Cyprus Warbler, Sylvia melanothorax, is a typical warbler which breeds on Cyprus. This small passerine bird is a short-distance migrant, and winters in Israel, Jordan and Egypt....
Sylvia melanothorax - Yemen Warbler Sylvia buryi – formerly placed in Parisoma
- Brown Parisoma Sylvia lugens – formerly placed in Parisoma
- Banded Parisoma Sylvia boehmi – formerly placed in Parisoma
- Chestnut-vented Warbler Sylvia subcaerulea – formerly placed in Parisoma
- Layard's WarblerLayard's WarblerThe Layard's Warbler or Layard's Tit-Babbler is a species of Old World warbler in the Sylviidae family. It is found in Lesotho, Namibia, and South Africa. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry shrubland....
Sylvia layardi – formerly placed in Parisoma
The relationships between all the species are not yet fully resolved; the list above follows the IOC list order.
External links
- Typical warbler videos on the Internet Bird Collection