Asian desert warbler

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Asian desert warbler
Asian Desert Warbler (Sylvia nana) (53678154976) (cropped).jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Sylviidae
Genus: Curruca
Species:
C. nana
Binomial name
Curruca nana
Synonyms

Sylvia nana theresae

Desert warbler at Kutch Desert warbler at Kutch.jpg
Desert warbler at Kutch

The Asian desert warbler (Curruca nana) is a typical warbler which breeds in the deserts of central and western Asia and the extreme east of Europe (Volga Delta area east to western Inner Mongolia in China), and migrating to similar habitats in southwestern Asia (Arabia to northwestern India) and the far northeast of Africa (Red Sea coastal regions) in winter. Until recently it was considered conspecific with the African desert warbler (and called just "desert warbler"), [2] but is now given specific status. [3] [4] The two are still each other's closest living relatives, and their relationships to other typical warblers are not clear. They may be fairly close to the common whitethroat; particularly, female whitethroats look much like a richly coloured Asian desert warbler. But it seems that all these three taxa are fairly basal members of the genus. [5] [6]

It is a small bird (the second-smallest in the genus after African desert warbler), 11.5–12.5 cm long. The sexes are almost identical in colour, pale grey-brown above with browner wings and tail, and whitish below; the bill and legs are yellowish, and the eye has a yellow iris. Like its relatives, it is insectivorous, but will also take small berries; unlike most warblers, it commonly feeds on the ground. The song is a distinctive jingle often given in an advertisement flight, with a mix of clear and harsher notes. It breeds in semi-desert and dry steppe environments, as long as some bushes for nesting occur. The nest is built in low shrub, and 4–6 eggs are laid. [2] [4]

It has occurred as a rare vagrant as far west as Great Britain. [7]

The specific nana is Latin for "dwarf", from earlier Ancient Greek nanos. [8]

Related Research Articles

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 ten 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. A smaller number of warblers, together with some babblers formerly placed in the family Timaliidae and the parrotbills, are retained in a much smaller family Sylviidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Typical warbler</span> Genus of birds

The typical warblers are small birds belonging to the genus Sylvia in the "Old World warbler" family Sylviidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eurasian blackcap</span> Bird in the Old World warbler family from Eurasia and Africa

The Eurasian blackcap, usually known simply as the blackcap, is a common and widespread typical warbler. It has mainly olive-grey upperparts and pale grey underparts, and differences across the five subspecies are small. Both sexes have a neat coloured cap to the head, black in the male and reddish-brown in the female. The male's typical song is a rich musical warbling, often ending in a loud high-pitched crescendo, but a simpler song is given in some isolated areas, such as valleys in the Alps. The blackcap's closest relative is the garden warbler, which looks quite different but has a similar song.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Garden warbler</span> A small migratory passerine bird

The garden warbler is a common and widespread small bird that breeds in most of Europe and in the Palearctic to western Siberia. It is a plain, long-winged and long-tailed typical warbler with brown upperparts and dull white underparts; the sexes are similar and juveniles resemble the adults. Its two subspecies differ only slightly and interbreed where their ranges overlap. Due to its lack of distinguishing features, this species can be confused with a number of other unstreaked warblers. The garden warbler's rich melodic song is similar to that of the blackcap, its closest relative, which competes with it for territory when nesting in the same woodland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barred warbler</span> Species of bird

The 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Common whitethroat</span> Species of bird

The common whitethroat or greater whitethroat is a common and widespread typical warbler which breeds throughout Europe and across much of temperate western Asia. This small passerine bird is strongly migratory, and winters in tropical Africa, Arabia, and Pakistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sardinian warbler</span> Species of bird

The Sardinian warbler is a common and widespread typical warbler from the Mediterranean region. Like most Curruca species, it has distinct male and female plumages. The adult male has a grey back, whitish underparts, black head, white throat and red eyes. Plumages are somewhat variable even in the same locality, with the intensity of a reddish hue on upper- and/or underside that varies from absent to pronounced. The female is mainly brown above and buff below, with a grey head. The Sardinian warbler's song is fast and rattling, and is very characteristic of the Mediterranean areas where this bird breeds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western subalpine warbler</span> Species of bird

The western subalpine warbler is a small typical warbler which breeds in the southernmost areas of Europe and north-western Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cyprus warbler</span> Species of bird

The Cyprus warbler is a typical warbler which breeds only on Cyprus. This small passerine bird is a short-distance migrant, and winters in Israel, Jordan and Egypt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lesser whitethroat</span> Species of bird

The lesser whitethroat is a common and widespread typical warbler which breeds in temperate Europe, except the southwest, and in the western and central Palearctic. This small passerine bird is strongly migratory, wintering in Africa just south of the Sahara, Arabia and India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dartford warbler</span> Species of bird

The Dartford warbler is a typical warbler from the warmer parts of western Europe and northwestern Africa. It is a small warbler with a long thin tail and a thin pointed bill. The adult male has grey-brown upperparts and is dull reddish-brown below except for the centre of the belly which has a dirty white patch. It has light speckles on the throat and a red eye-ring. The sexes are similar but the adult female is usually less grey above and paler below.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melodious warbler</span> Species of bird

The melodious warbler is an Old World warbler in the tree warbler genus Hippolais. It breeds in southwest Europe and northwest Africa. It is migratory, wintering in sub-Saharan Africa. This small passerine bird is a species found in open woodland with bushes. Three to five eggs are laid in a nest in a tree or a bush. This is a common bird in many parts of its wide range and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern Bonelli's warbler</span> Species of bird

The Eastern Bonelli's warbler, sometimes known as Balkan warbler, is a "warbler" in the leaf warbler genus Phylloscopus. It was formerly regarded as the eastern subspecies of a wider "Bonelli's warbler" species, but as a result of modern taxonomic developments, they are now usually considered to be two species:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">African desert warbler</span> Species of bird

The African desert warbler is a typical warbler.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rüppell's warbler</span> Species of bird

Rüppell's warbler is a typical warbler of the genus Curruca. It breeds in Greece, Turkey and neighbouring islands. It is migratory, wintering in northeast Africa. This is a rare vagrant to western Europe. The name is occasionally cited as "Rueppell's warbler".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western Orphean warbler</span> Species of bird

The western Orphean warbler is a typical warbler of the genus Curruca. This species occurs in summer around the Mediterranean, through western Europe and extending into northwest Africa. It is migratory, wintering in Sub-Saharan Africa. It is a rare vagrant to northern and north-western Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marmora's warbler</span> Species of bird

Marmora's warbler is a typical warbler in the Sylviidae family. The specific sarda is a Latin feminine form for a person from Sardinia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spectacled warbler</span> Species of bird

The spectacled warbler is a species in the typical warbler genus, Curruca. The specific conspicillata is from Latin conspicillum, a place to look from, equivalent to "spectacled".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern subalpine warbler</span> Species of bird

The eastern subalpine warbler is a small typical warbler which breeds in the southernmost areas of Europe. It was first described by the German naturalist Peter Simon Pallas in 1764 and given the binomial name Motacilla cantillans. The specific cantillans is Latin for "warbling" from canere, "to sing".

<i>Curruca</i> Genus of birds

Curruca is a genus of Sylviid warblers, best represented in Europe, Africa, and Asia. All of these species were formerly placed in the genus Sylvia.

References

  1. BirdLife International (2017) [amended version of 2017 assessment]. "Sylvia nana". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2017: e.T103872996A118852574. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T103872996A118852574.en . Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  2. 1 2 Del Hoyo, J., Elliot, A., & Christie, D. (editors). (2006). Handbook of the Birds of the World . Volume 11: Old World Flycatchers to Old World Warblers. Lynx Edicions. ISBN   84-96553-06-X.
  3. IOC World Bird List version 2.9: Old World Warblers Archived 2010-03-24 at the Wayback Machine
  4. 1 2 Svensson, L., Mullarney, K. & Zetterström, D. (2009). Collins Bird Guide, second edition. HarperCollins, London ISBN   978-0-00-726726-2.
  5. 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
  6. Jønsson, K. A., & Fjeldså, J. (2006). A phylogenetic supertree of oscine passerine birds (Aves: Passeri). Zool. Scripta 35 (2): 149–186. doi : 10.1111/j.1463-6409.2006.00221.x (HTML abstract).
  7. Dymond, J. N., Fraser, P. A., & Gantlett, S. J. M. (1989). Rare Birds in Britain and Ireland. T & A D Poyser ISBN   0-85661-053-4.
  8. Jobling, James A (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. pp.  265, 376. ISBN   978-1-4081-2501-4.