# Typical warbler

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The **typical warblers** are small [birds](/source/Bird) belonging to the [genus](/source/Genus) ***Sylvia*** in the "Old World warbler" (or sylviid warbler) [family](/source/Family_(taxonomy)) [Sylviidae](/source/Sylviidae).[1][2]

There are seven species in the genus.[1][2][3][4] Typical warblers occur in the [temperate](/source/Temperate) to [tropical](/source/Tropical) regions of [Europe](/source/Europe), western and central [Asia](/source/Asia), and [Africa](/source/Africa), with the highest species diversity centred on the [Mediterranean](/source/Mediterranean).

They are strongly built, with stouter legs and a slightly thicker bill than many other [warblers](/source/Warbler). The [plumage](/source/Plumage) is in varying shades of grey and brown, usually darker above and paler below, with bluish or pinkish tones in several species; several also have orange-brown or [rufous](/source/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](/source/Sexual_dimorphism), with distinctive male and female [plumages](/source/Plumage), 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](/source/Bird_migration), 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](/source/Sambucus) and [ivy](/source/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.[2][5]

## Taxonomy and systematics

The genus *Sylvia* was introduced in 1769 by the Italian naturalist [Giovanni Antonio Scopoli](/source/Giovanni_Antonio_Scopoli).[6] Scopoli did not specify a [type species](/source/Type_species) but this was designated as the [Eurasian blackcap](/source/Eurasian_blackcap) (*Sylvia atricapilla*) by [Charles Lucien Bonaparte](/source/Charles_Lucien_Bonaparte) in 1828.[7][8] The genus name is from [Modern Latin](/source/Neo-Latin) *silvia*, a woodland sprite, related to *silva* meaning "a wood".[9]

The typical warblers are now known to form a major lineage in a [clade](/source/Clade) containing also the [parrotbills](/source/Parrotbill) and some [taxa](/source/Taxa) formerly considered to be [Old World babblers](/source/Old_World_babbler).[10][11] The other "Old World warblers" have been moved to their own families, entirely redelimiting the [Sylviidae](/source/Sylviidae).[12]

A [molecular phylogenetic](/source/Molecular_phylogenetic) study using [mitochondrial](/source/Mitochondrial) DNA sequence data published in 2011 found that the species in the genus *Sylvia* formed two distinct clades.[13] Based on these results, the ornithologists [Edward Dickinson](/source/Edward_C._Dickinson) and [Leslie Christidis](/source/Leslie_Christidis) in the fourth edition of *[Howard and Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World](/source/Howard_and_Moore_Complete_Checklist_of_the_Birds_of_the_World)*, chose to split the genus and moved most of the species into a resurrected genus *[Curruca](/source/Curruca)* retaining only the [Eurasian blackcap](/source/Eurasian_blackcap) and the [garden warbler](/source/Garden_warbler) in *Sylvia*. In an additional change they moved the [African hill babbler](/source/African_hill_babbler) from *Horizorhinus* and [Dohrn's warbler](/source/Dohrn's_warbler) from *Pseudoalcippe* into *Sylvia*.[14] The split was at first not made by the [British Ornithologists' Union](/source/British_Ornithologists'_Union) on the grounds that "a split into two genera would unnecessarily destabilize nomenclature and results in only a minor increase in phylogenetic information content",[15] but then later accepted in 2021.[16]

### Pseudoalcippe

***Pseudoalcippe*** was erected by the English ornithologist [David Armitage Bannerman](/source/David_Armitage_Bannerman) in 1923.[17] The [type species](/source/Type_species) is the Ruwenzori hill babbler. The genus contained two [species](/source/Species):[18]

- [African hill babbler](/source/African_hill_babbler) (formerly *Pseudoalcippe abyssinica*)
- [Rwenzori hill babbler](/source/Rwenzori_hill_babbler) (formerly *Pseudoalcippe atriceps*)

These two species were previously considered as members of the [family](/source/Family_(taxonomy)) [Timaliidae](/source/Timaliidae) (Old World babblers) but [molecular phylogenetic](/source/Molecular_phylogenetic) studies have shown that they are closely related to species belonging to the genus *Sylvia* in the family [Sylviidae](/source/Sylviidae).[19][20] Both species are now placed in *Sylvia*.[21][22]

### Extant species

The genus as currently circumscribed includes the following species:[23]

- [Eurasian blackcap](/source/Eurasian_blackcap) *Sylvia atricapilla*
- [Garden warbler](/source/Garden_warbler) *Sylvia borin*
- [Dohrn's warbler](/source/Dohrn's_warbler) *Sylvia dohrni*
- [Abyssinian catbird](/source/Abyssinian_catbird) *Sylvia galinieri*
- [Bush blackcap](/source/Bush_blackcap) *Sylvia nigricapillus*
- [African hill babbler](/source/African_hill_babbler) *Sylvia abyssinica*
- [Rwenzori hill babbler](/source/Rwenzori_hill_babbler) *Sylvia atriceps*

## References

1. ["Sylviid babblers, parrotbills & white-eyes"](http://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/sylvias/). *World Bird List Version 6.3*. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 4 August 2016.

1. Del Hoyo, J.; Elliot, A., & Christie, D. (editors). (2006). *[Handbook of the Birds of the World](/source/Handbook_of_the_Birds_of_the_World)*. Volume 11: Old World Flycatchers to Old World Warblers. Lynx Edicions. ISBN 84-96553-06-X.

1. Helbig, A. J. (2001). The characteristics of the genus: Phylogeny and biogeography of the genus *Sylvia*. Pages 24–28 in: Shirihai, H., Gargallo, G., Helbig, A. J., & Harris, A. *Sylvia Warblers*. Helm Identification Guides ISBN 0-7136-3984-9

1. Jønsson, K. A. & Fjeldså, J. (2006). A phylogenetic supertree of oscine passerine birds (Aves: Passeri). *[Zool. Scripta](/source/Zoologica_Scripta)* 35 (2): 149–186. [doi:10.1111/j.1463-6409.2006.00221.x](https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1463-6409.2006.00221.x) (HTML abstract)

1. Snow, D. W., & Perrins, C. M. (1998). *The Birds of the Western Palearctic*. Concise ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-854099-X.

1. Scopoli, Giovanni Antonio (1769). [*Annus I historico-naturalis*](https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/31117781) (in Latin). Lipsiae (Leipzig): C.G. Hilscheri. p. 154.

1. Bonaparte, Charles Lucien (1828). [*American Ornithology; or, The Natural History of Birds Inhabiting the United States, Not Given By Wilson*](https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/58156722). Vol. 2. Philadelphia: Carey, Lea & Carey. p. 17.

1. [*Check-list of Birds of the World. Volume 11*](https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/14483971). Vol. 11. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. 1986. p. 270.

1. Jobling, James A (2010). [*The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names*](https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling). London: Christopher Helm. p. [376](https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling/page/n376). ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.

1. Alström, P.; Ericson, P. G. P.; Olsson, U.; Sundberg, P. (2006). "Phylogeny and classification of the avian superfamily Sylvioidea". *Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution*. **38** (2): 381–397. [Bibcode:2006MolPE..38..381A](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2006MolPE..38..381A). [doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2005.05.015](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2005.05.015). [PMID 16054402](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16054402)

1. Cibois, Alice (2003). "Mitochondrial DNA phylogeny of babblers (Timaliidae)". *The Auk*. **120** (1): 35–54. [doi:10.1642/0004-8038(2003)120\[0035:MDPOBT](https://doi.org/10.1642/0004-8038(2003)120%5B0035:MDPOBT%5D2.0.CO;2)2.0.CO;2]. [JSTOR 4090138](https://www.jstor.org/stable/4090138)

1. Cai, T.; Cibois, A.; Alström, P.; Moyle, R.G.; Kennedy, J.D.; Shao, S.; Zhang, R.; Irestedt, M.; Ericson, P.G.P.; Gelang, M.; Qu, Y.; Lei, F.; Fjeldså, J. (2019). "Near-complete phylogeny and taxonomic revision of the world's babblers (Aves: Passeriformes)". *Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution*. **130**: 346–356. [Bibcode:2019MolPE.130..346C](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2019MolPE.130..346C). [doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2018.10.010](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2018.10.010). [PMID 30321696](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30321696)

1. Voelker, Gary & Light, Jessica E. (2011). "Palaeoclimatic events, dispersal and migratory losses along the Afro-European axis as drivers of biogeographic distribution in *Sylvia* warblers". *BMC Evolutionary Biology*. **11** (163): 163. [Bibcode:2011BMCEE..11..163V](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2011BMCEE..11..163V). [doi:10.1186/1471-2148-11-163](https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2148-11-163). [PMC 3123607](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3123607). [PMID 21672229](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21672229)

1. Dickinson, E.C. & Christidis, L. (eds.) (2014). *The Howard & Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World, Volume 2: Passerines*. 4th ed. Eastbourne, UK: Aves Press. p. 509. ISBN 978-0-9568611-2-2.

1. Sangster, G. et al. (2016). "Taxonomic recommendations for Western Palearctic birds: 11th report". *Ibis*. **158** (1): 206–212. [doi:10.1111/ibi.12322](https://doi.org/10.1111/ibi.12322)

1. "British Ornithologists' Union Records Committee (BOURC): 52nd Report (January 2021)". *Ibis*. **163** (1): 305–308. 2021. [doi:10.1111/ibi.12900](https://doi.org/10.1111/ibi.12900). [ISSN 0019-1019](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0019-1019)

1. Bannerman, David Armitage (1923). ["*Pseudoalcippe*"](https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/40499223). *Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club*. **44**: 26.

1. ["Sylviid babblers, parrotbills & white-eyes"](http://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/sylvias/). *World Bird List Version 7.3*. International Ornithologists' Union. 2017. Retrieved 7 September 2017.

1. Cibois, Alice (2003). "Mitochondrial DNA phylogeny of babblers (Timaliidae)". *The Auk*. **120** (1): 35–54. [doi:10.1642/0004-8038(2003)120\[0035:MDPOBT](https://doi.org/10.1642/0004-8038(2003)120%5B0035:MDPOBT%5D2.0.CO;2)2.0.CO;2]. [JSTOR 4090138](https://www.jstor.org/stable/4090138). [S2CID 85629890](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:85629890)

1. Voelker, Gary & Light, Jessica E. (2011). "Palaeoclimatic events, dispersal and migratory losses along the Afro-European axis as drivers of biogeographic distribution in *Sylvia* warblers". *BMC Evolutionary Biology*. **11** (163): 163. [Bibcode:2011BMCEE..11..163V](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2011BMCEE..11..163V). [doi:10.1186/1471-2148-11-163](https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2148-11-163). [PMC 3123607](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3123607). [PMID 21672229](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21672229)

1. Collar, N. & Robson, C. (2017). ["Ruwenzori Hill-babbler (*Sylvia atriceps*)"](http://www.hbw.com/node/59386). *Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive*. Lynx Edicions. Retrieved 8 September 2017.

1. Collar, N. & Robson, C. (2017). ["African Hill-babbler (*Sylvia abyssinica*)"](http://www.hbw.com/node/59385). *Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive*. Lynx Edicions. Retrieved 27 August 2017.

## Further reading

- Brambilla, Mattia; Vitulano, Severino; Spina, Fernando; Bacetti, Nicola; Gargalllo, Gabriel; Fabbri, Elena; Guidali, Franca; Randi, Ettore (2008). "A molecular phylogeny of the *Sylvia cantillans* complex: Cryptic species within the Mediterranean basin". *Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution*. **48** (2): 461–472. [Bibcode:2008MolPE..48..461B](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2008MolPE..48..461B). [doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2008.05.013](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2008.05.013). [PMID 18590968](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18590968)
- Svensson, Lars (2013). ["A taxonomic revision of the Subalpine Warbler *Sylvia cantillans*"](http://boc-online.org/bulletins/downloads/BBOC1333-Svensson.pdf). *Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club*. **133**: 240–248.
- Svensson, Lars (2013). "Subalpine Warbler variation and taxonomy". *British Birds*. **106** (11): 651–668.

## External links

- [Typical warbler videos](http://ibc.lynxeds.com/family/cisticolas-allies-cisticolidae) on the Internet Bird Collection

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Typical warbler](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typical_warbler) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typical_warbler?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.