Macrosphenidae
Encyclopedia
The African warblers are a newly erected 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...

, Macrosphenidae, of songbirds
Passerine
A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...

. Most of the species were formerly placed in the Old World warbler
Old World warbler
The "Old World Warblers" is the name used to describe a large group of birds formerly grouped together in the bird family Sylviidae. 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...

 family 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...

, although one species, the Rockrunner, was placed in the babbler family Timaliidae. A series of molecular studies of the Old World warblers and other bird families in the superfamily Sylvioidea
Sylvioidea
Sylvioidea is a superfamily of passerine birds. It is one of at least three major clades within the Passerida along with the Muscicapoidea and Passeroidea. It contains about 1300 species including the Old World warblers, Old World babblers, swallows, larks, bulbuls and perhaps the tits...

 (which includes the lark
Lark
Larks are passerine birds of the family Alaudidae. All species occur in the Old World, and in northern and eastern Australia; only one, the Shore Lark, has spread to North America, where it is called the Horned Lark...

s, swallow
Swallow
The swallows and martins are a group of passerine birds in the family Hirundinidae which are characterised by their adaptation to aerial feeding...

s and tits) found that the African warblers were not part of the family Sylviidae but were instead an early offshoot (basal
Basal (phylogenetics)
In phylogenetics, a basal clade is the earliest clade to branch in a larger clade; it appears at the base of a cladogram.A basal group forms an outgroup to the rest of the clade, such as in the following example:...

) to the entire Sylvioidea clade.

Distribution and habitat

The African warblers inhabit a range of habitats in sub-Saharan Africa. These range from primary rainforest to forest edge and open woodland habitats for the longbills, wooded savanna to arid scrubland and bushland in the crombecs, rocky arid scree areas and grassland for the Rockrunner, and grassland for the Moustached Grass-warbler and Cape Grassbird. The family is overwhelmingly non-migratory, although the Moustached Grass-warbler and the Northern Crombec both make some localised movements in West Africa related to the rainy season.

Description

The African warblers range in size from the smaller crombecs, which measure 8 centimetres (3.1 in) in length and weigh as little as 6.5 gram (0.229280753683228 oz), to the Cape Grassbird, which measures 19 – in length and the Moustached Grass-warbler which weighs 29 –. There is considerable difference in appearance between the genera; for example the two grass warblers and Victorin's Warbler possess long graduated tails, whereas the crombecs have tails of which barely extend beyond the tail coverts and folded wings.

Behaviour

The African warblers are insect eaters, and take a range of insect prey. The longbills and crombecs feed in the canopy and in bushes, either as singles or pairs and sometimes in small groups, whereas the other species are more terrestrial in their habits. Where two species co-occur, such as the Red-faced Crombec
Red-faced Crombec
The Red-faced Crombec is a species of African warbler, formerly placed in the family Sylviidae.It is found in Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe....

 and the Cape Crombec
Cape Crombec
The Cape Crombec or Long-billed Crombec, Sylvietta rufescens, is an African warbler.The Cape Crombec breeds in southern Africa from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia and Tanzania southwards to South Africa....

 over parts of their range, niche partitioning
Niche differentiation
The term niche differentiation , as it applies to the field of ecology, refers to the process by which natural selection drives competing species into different patterns of resource use or different niches...

 occurs, with one species feeding in the canopy and the other species feeding lower down in the bushes and trees. Some species of both crombec and longbill have been reported to join mixed-species feeding flock
Mixed-species feeding flock
A mixed-species feeding flock, also termed a mixed-species foraging flock, mixed hunting party or informally bird wave, is a flock of usually insectivorous birds of different species, that join each other and move together while foraging...

s.

Breeding is seasonal and usually timed to coincide with the end of the dry season and beginning of the rainy season; in species with large ranges this can lead to considerable variation as to the exact timing. Information is lacking in many species, but for those that have been studied the African warblers are territorial
Territory (animal)
In ethology the term territory refers to any sociographical area that an animal of a particular species consistently defends against conspecifics...

 and monogamous
Monogamy
Monogamy /Gr. μονός+γάμος - one+marriage/ a form of marriage in which an individual has only one spouse at any one time. In current usage monogamy often refers to having one sexual partner irrespective of marriage or reproduction...

. Nest design
Bird nest
A bird nest is the spot in which a bird lays and incubates its eggs and raises its young. Although the term popularly refers to a specific structure made by the bird itself—such as the grassy cup nest of the American Robin or Eurasian Blackbird, or the elaborately woven hanging nest of the...

 varies within the family; the crombecs construct deep pocket shaped nests suspended from a branch; whereas the Victorin's Warbler, Cape Grassbird and Moustached Grass-warbler construct cup nests weaved from grass.

Status and conservation

The majority of this family are considered to be fairly secure and are listed by the IUCN as least concern. One species, the Pulitzer's Longbill
Pulitzer's Longbill
Pulitzer's Longbill is a species of bird. Formerly considered an "Old World warbler" and placed in the family Sylviidae, it is now considered to belong to an group of enigmatic African warblers in the family Macrosphenidae. It is found only in Angola.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical...

, is listed as endangered
Endangered species
An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...

. The species is endemic to forests found on escarpments in western Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...

, a habitat threatened by forest clearance and the spread of slash and burn agriculture, and the population is thought to number less than a thousand and is still declining. Another potential concern is Chapin's Crombec
Chapin's Crombec
The Chapin's Crombec is an enigmatic African warbler, formerly placed in the family Sylviidae. It is currently considered a subspecies of the White-browed Crombec, but might be a distinct species; too little is known about it to determine this now with reasonable certainty.It is found only on the...

, which is either a species or a subspecies of the White-browed Crombec
White-browed Crombec
The White-browed Crombec is a species of African warbler, formerly placed in the family Sylviidae. The enigmatic Chapin's Crombec might be a distinct species, or a subspecies Sylvietta leucophrys chapini of the present species.The White-browed Crombec is found in Burundi, Democratic Republic of...

. The status of this is uncertain, as conflict has prevent surveys in its range, but it may be extinct.

Species

  • Genus Sylvietta - crombec
    Crombec
    Sylvietta, the crombecs, is a genus of African warblers. Formerly placed in the massively paraphyletic Sylviidae, it is now considered to belong to a newly-recognized family found only in Africa, Macrosphenidae.It contains the following species:...

    s
    • Green Crombec
      Green Crombec
      The Green Crombec is a species of African warbler, formerly placed in the family Sylviidae.It is found in Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Mali,...

       Sylvietta virens
    • Lemon-bellied Crombec
      Lemon-bellied Crombec
      The Lemon-bellied Crombec is a species of African warbler, formerly placed in the family Sylviidae.It is found in Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria,...

       Sylvietta denti
    • White-browed Crombec
      White-browed Crombec
      The White-browed Crombec is a species of African warbler, formerly placed in the family Sylviidae. The enigmatic Chapin's Crombec might be a distinct species, or a subspecies Sylvietta leucophrys chapini of the present species.The White-browed Crombec is found in Burundi, Democratic Republic of...

       Sylvietta leucophrys
      • Chapin's Crombec Sylvietta (leucophrys) chapini - possibly extinct (late 20th century?)
    • Northern Crombec
      Northern Crombec
      The Northern Crombec is a species of African warbler, formerly placed in the family Sylviidae.It is found in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Mali,...

       Sylvietta brachyura
    • Short-billed Crombec
      Short-billed Crombec
      Philippa's Crombec , also known as the Short-billed Crombec, is a species of African warbler, formerly placed in the family Sylviidae. It is found in Ethiopia and Somalia. Its natural habitat is dry savanna.-References:...

       Sylvietta philippae
    • Red-capped Crombec
      Red-capped Crombec
      The Red-capped Crombec is a species of African warbler, formerly placed in the family Sylviidae.It is found in Angola, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and possibly Botswana.Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry...

       Sylvietta ruficapilla
    • Red-faced Crombec
      Red-faced Crombec
      The Red-faced Crombec is a species of African warbler, formerly placed in the family Sylviidae.It is found in Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe....

       Sylvietta whytii
    • Somali Crombec
      Somali Crombec
      The Somali Crombec is a species of African warbler, formerly placed in the family Sylviidae.It is found in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, and Tanzania.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry shrubland.-References:...

       Sylvietta isabellina
    • Cape Crombec
      Cape Crombec
      The Cape Crombec or Long-billed Crombec, Sylvietta rufescens, is an African warbler.The Cape Crombec breeds in southern Africa from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia and Tanzania southwards to South Africa....

       Sylvietta rufescens
  • Genus Melocichla
    • Moustached Grass-warbler
      Moustached Grass-warbler
      The Moustached Grass-Warbler is a species of African Warbler, formerly placed in the Sylviidae family.It is found in Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea,...

       Melocichla mentalis
  • Genus Achaetops
    • Rockrunner Achaetops pycnopygius
  • Genus Sphenoeacus
    Cape Grassbird
    The Cape Grassbird or Cape Grass Warbler is an African warbler found in southern Africa.-Taxonomy:It was formerly placed in the Sylviidae family and is the only member of the genus Sphenoeacus...

    • Cape Grassbird
      Cape Grassbird
      The Cape Grassbird or Cape Grass Warbler is an African warbler found in southern Africa.-Taxonomy:It was formerly placed in the Sylviidae family and is the only member of the genus Sphenoeacus...

       Sphenoeacus afer
  • Genus Cryptillas. - formerly Bradypterus (now Locustellidae)
    • Victorin's Warbler Cryptillas victorini
  • Genus Macrosphenus
    Macrosphenus
    Macrosphenus is a genus of African warblers, formerly placed in the Sylviidae family. The genus is one of two in that family known as longbills.It contains the following species:* Grey Longbill...

     - longbill
    Macrosphenus
    Macrosphenus is a genus of African warblers, formerly placed in the Sylviidae family. The genus is one of two in that family known as longbills.It contains the following species:* Grey Longbill...

    s
    • Kemp's Longbill
      Kemp's Longbill
      The Kemp's Longbill is a species of Old World warbler in the Macrosphenidae family.It is found in Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone....

       Macrosphenus kempi
    • Yellow Longbill
      Yellow Longbill
      The Yellow Longbill is a species of Old World warbler in the Macrosphenidae family.It is found in Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Nigeria, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda.Its natural habitats are subtropical...

       Macrosphenus flavicans
    • Grey Longbill
      Grey Longbill
      The Grey Longbill is a species of Old World warbler in the Macrosphenidae family.It is found in Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone,...

       Macrosphenus concolor
    • Pulitzer's Longbill
      Pulitzer's Longbill
      Pulitzer's Longbill is a species of bird. Formerly considered an "Old World warbler" and placed in the family Sylviidae, it is now considered to belong to an group of enigmatic African warblers in the family Macrosphenidae. It is found only in Angola.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical...

       Macrosphenus pulitzeri
    • Kretschmer's Longbill
      Kretschmer's Longbill
      The Kretschmer's Longbill is a species of Old World warbler in the Macrosphenidae family.It is found in Kenya, Mozambique, and Tanzania....

      Macrosphenus kretschmeri
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