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Old World warbler

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The Old World warblers are a large group of birds formerly grouped together in the bird family Sylviidae. They are not closely related to the New World warblers. The family held over 400 species in over 70 genera, and were the source of much taxonomic confusion. Two families were split out initially, the cisticolas into Cisticolidae and the kinglets into Regulidae. In the past 20–30 years they have been the subject of much research and many species are now placed into other families, including the Acrocephalidae, Cettiidae, Phylloscopidae, and Megaluridae. In addition some species have been moved into existing families or have not yet had their placement fully resolved. Only a small number of warblers, in just two genera, are now retained in the family Sylviidae.

Characteristics

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Most Old World warblers are of generally undistinguished appearance, though some species are boldly marked. The sexes are often identical, but may be clearly distinct, notably in the genera Sylvia and Curruca. They are of small to medium size, varying from 9 to 20 centimetres in length, with a slender, finely pointed bill. Almost all species are primarily insectivorous, although many will also eat soft fruit, nectar, or tiny seeds.[1]

The majority of species are monogamous and build simple, 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.[2]

Systematics

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In the late 20th century, the Sylviidae were thought to unite nearly 300 small insectivorous bird species in nearly 50 genera, a huge family, with few clear patterns of relationships recognisable. Though not as diverse as the Timaliidae (Old World babblers; another "wastebin taxon" containing more thrush-like forms), the frontiers were much blurred. The largely tropical warbler family Cisticolidae was at that time traditionally included in the Sylviidae. The kinglets, now a small genus in a monotypic family Regulidae, were also sometimes placed in this family, including by the influential List of Recent Holarctic Bird Species,[3]. The American Ornithologists' Union then also included the gnatcatchers, as subfamily Polioptilinae, in the Sylviidae.[4]

Sibley & Ahlquist (1990) united the "Old World warblers" with the babblers and other taxa in a superfamily Sylvioidea as a result of DNA–DNA hybridisation studies. This demonstrated that the Sylviidae as initially defined was a form taxon which collected 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 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 mtDNA cytochrome b and 12S/16S rRNA data indicated that the Sylviidae and Old World babblers were not reciprocally monophyletic to each other. Moreover, Sylvia, the type genus of the Sylviidae, turned out to be closer to taxa such as the yellow-eyed babbler (Chrysomma sinense, traditionally held to be an atypical timaliid) and the wrentit (Chamaea fasciata), an enigmatic species generally held to be the only American Old World babbler. The parrotbills Paradoxornithidae (roughly, "puzzling birds") of then unclear affiliations also were part of what apparently was a well distinctive clade.

Cibois suggested that the Sylviidae should officially be suppressed by the ICZN as a taxon and the genus Sylvia merged into the Timaliidae (Cibois 2003b), but this was rejected. Clearly, the sheer extent of the groups concerned made it necessary to study a wide range of taxa. This was begun by Beresford et al. (2005) and Alström et al. (2006). They determined that the late-20th-century Sylviidae united at least four, but probably as many as seven major distinct lineages. The authors propose the creation of several new families (Phylloscopidae, Cettiidae, Acrocephalidae, and Megaluridae, this last turning out to be a synonym of the older-published Locustellidae) to better reflect the evolutionary history of the sylvioid group.

Species

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Family Sylviidae sensu stricto

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Typical warblers (or sylviid warblers). A fairly diverse group of smallish taxa with longish tails, now containing 33 species in two genera. Mostly in Europe and the Mediterranean region, with a few extending to central Asia and in tropical Africa.

Moved to family Paradoxornithidae[5]

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

Moved to family Pellorneidae

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

Moved to family Cisticolidae

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Moved to family Acrocephalidae

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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.

  • Genus Acrocephalus – marsh warblers (about 38 living species, 5 recently extinct)
  • Genus Iduna – olivaceous warblers (6 species)
  • Genus Hippolais – tree warblers (4 species)
  • Genus Arundinax – thick-billed warbler
  • Genus Calamonastides – yellow warblers (2 species)
  • Genus Nesillas – brush warblers (5 living species, 1 recently extinct)

Moved to Malagasy warblers

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See Cibois et al. (2001)

Moved to family Locustellidae

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New Zealand's 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 in dense low vegetation. Old World and into Australian region, centred on the Indian Ocean.

Moved to family Donacobiidae

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The black-capped donacobius Donacobius atricapillus, which was long considered an aberrant wren or mockingbird is apparently quite closely related, and is the only South American species in the superfamily Sylvioidea.

Moved to family Cettiidae

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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.

Uguisu (鶯), the Japanese bush warbler (Horornis diphone). See also uguisubari.

Moved to family Aegithalidae

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Moved to family Phylloscopidae

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Leaf warblers. A group variable in size, generally dull to vivid green above and whitish or 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

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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

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Taxa that have not been studied. Most are likely to belong to one of Sylvioidea families listed above. Those in the Australian-Pacific region are probably Megaluridae. These taxa are listed in the sequence used in recent years.

Not in Sylvioidea

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Entirely unrelated songbirds hitherto placed in Sylviidae

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Hoyo, Josep del (2020). All the birds of the world. Barcelona: Lynx edicions. ISBN 978-84-16728-37-4.
  2. ^ Perrins, C. (1991). Forshaw, Joseph (ed.). Encyclopaedia of Animals: Birds. London: Merehurst Press. pp. 192–194. ISBN 1-85391-186-0.
  3. ^ Voous, Karel (1977). "List of Recent Holarctic Bird Species". Ibis. 119: 241–245.
  4. ^ AOU: Check-list of North American Birds Archived 2007-12-11 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ a b Cai, Tianlong; Cibois, Alice; Alström, Per; Moyle, Robert G.; Kennedy, Jonathan D.; Shao, Shimiao; Zhang, Ruiying; Irestedt, Martin; Ericson, Per G.P.; Gelang, Magnus; Qu, Yanhua; Lei, Fumin; Fjeldså, Jon (2019). "Near-complete phylogeny and taxonomic revision of the world's babblers (Aves: Passeriformes)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 130: 346–356. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2018.10.010. PMID 30321696. S2CID 53216358.
  6. ^ Sefc, K. M.; Payne, R. B.; Sorenson, M. D. (2003). "Phylogenetic relationships of African sunbird-like warblers: Moho Hypergerus atriceps, Green Hylia Hylia prasina and Tit-hylia Pholidornis rushiae". Ostrich. 74 (1–2): 8–17. doi:10.2989/00306520309485365. S2CID 86085338.
  7. ^ Alström, Per; Rheindt, Frank E; Zhang, Ruiying; Zhao, Min; Wang, Jing; Zhu, Xiaojia; Gwee, Chyi Yin; Hao, Yan; Ohlson, Jan; Jia, Chenxi; Prawiradilaga, Dewi M; Ericson, Per G.P; Lei, Fumin; Olsson, Urban (2018). "Complete species-level phylogeny of the leaf warbler (Aves: Phylloscopidae) radiation". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 126: 141–152. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2018.03.031. PMID 29631054. S2CID 4720300.
  8. ^ Johansson, U.S.; Fjeldså, J.; Bowie, R.C.K. (2008). "Phylogenetic relationships within Passerida (Aves: Passeriformes): A review and a new molecular phylogeny based on three nuclear intron markers". Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 48 (3): 858–876. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2008.05.029. PMID 18619860.
  9. ^ Fuchs, J.; Fjeldså, J.; Bowie, R. C. K.; Voelker, G.; Pasquet, E. (2006). "The African warbler genus Hyliota as a lost lineage in the oscine songbird tree: Molecular support for an African origin of the Passerida". Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 39 (1): 186–197. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2005.07.020. PMID 16182572.

References

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