Bush-warblers (or bush warblers) are small insectivorous songbirds of the genera Cettia , Horornis , and Bradypterus . They were formerly placed in the "wastebin" Old World warbler family. None of the genera as traditionally delimited are believed to be monophyletic. [1]
Due to their external similarity convergently acquired by strong selective pressures due to the identical habitat, they were occasionally believed to be close relatives. However, they belong to two well-distant families in the Sylvioidea, the "warbler-and-babbler" superfamily:
- Cettia , the cettiid bush-warblers or typical bush-warblers, belong in the Cettiidae, an ancient sylvioid lineage related to long-tailed tits. [1]
- Horornis , the horornid bush-warblers, also belonging in the Cettiidae, an ancient sylvioid lineage related to long-tailed tits. [1]
- Bradypterus , the megalurid bush-warblers, belong to the Locustellidae, the grass-warbler family which is closely related to the Malagasy warblers and the peculiar black-capped donacobius from South America, formerly believed to be an aberrant wren. [1]