Old World warblers are 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 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 family of warblers, together with some babblers formerly placed in the family Timaliidae and the parrotbills, are retained in a much smaller family Sylviidae.
The river warbler is an Old World warbler in the grass warbler genus Locustella. It breeds in east and central Europe into the western Palearctic. It is migratory, wintering in inland southern Africa, from around the Zambezi River south to the vicinity of Pretoria in South Africa. The genus name Locustella is from Latin and is a diminutive of locusta, "grasshopper". This refers to the song of the common grasshopper warbler and some others in this genus. The specific fluviatilis is Latin for "of a river".
The sedge warbler is an Old World warbler in the genus Acrocephalus. It is a medium-sized warbler with a brown, streaked back and wings and a distinct pale supercilium. Sedge warblers are migratory, crossing the Sahara to get from their European and Asian breeding grounds to spend winter in Africa. The male's song is composed of random chattering phrases and can include mimicry of other species. The sedge warbler is mostly insectivorous.
The moustached warbler is an Old World warbler in the genus Acrocephalus. It breeds in southern Europe and southern temperate Asia with a few in north-west Africa. It is partially migratory. South west European birds are resident, south east European birds winter in the Mediterranean breeding range, and the Asiatic race migrates to Arabia, India and Pakistan.
The zitting cisticola or streaked fantail warbler is a widely distributed Old World warbler whose breeding range includes southern Europe, Africa, and southern Asia down to northern Australia. A small bird found mainly in grasslands, it is best identified by its rufous rump; as well, it lacks any gold on the collar and the brownish tail is tipped with white. During the breeding season, males have a zigzagging flight display accompanied by regular "zitting" calls that have been likened to repeated snips of a scissor. They build their pouch nest suspended within a clump of grass.
The northern parula is a small New World warbler. It breeds in eastern North America from southern Canada to Florida.
The croaking cisticola is an Old World warbler in the genus Cisticola. This genus is sometimes split off with various other southern warbler genera and given family status as the Cisticolidae.
The lesser swamp warbler or Cape reed warbler is an Old World warbler in the genus Acrocephalus. It is a resident breeder in Africa from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Chad and Ethiopia south to South Africa. This is a common species of reedbeds in standing water.
The Cape grassbird or Cape grass warbler is an African warbler found in southern Africa.
The Barratt's warbler or African scrub warbler, is a species of Old World warbler in the family Locustellidae. It is found in eastern South Africa, Lesotho, eastern Zimbabwe and adjacent western Mozambique. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.
The evergreen forest warbler or Cameroon scrub-warbler is a grass warbler species in the family Locustellidae. It was formerly included in the "Old World warbler" assemblage.
The African yellow warbler, Natal yellow warbler, dark-capped yellow warbler, or yellow flycatcher-warbler is a species of Acrocephalidae warblers; formerly, these were placed in the paraphyletic "Old World warblers".
The yellow-throated woodland warbler is a species of Old World warbler in the family Phylloscopidae. It is found in Eswatini, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forest and subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest.
The broad-tailed grassbird is a species of Old World warbler in the family Locustellidae. It is endemic to the Western Ghats of India with a possibility of occurrence in Sri Lanka. A small, mostly brown bird, it has a broad rounded and graduated tail. It is found only on the higher altitude grassy hills where it usually skulks, except during the breeding season when males fly up into the air to sing in their display. The species is believed to be a resident although it is possible that they make local movements.
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, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, subtropical or tropical moist montane forests, and subtropical or tropical dry shrubland.
The grey warbler-finch is a species of bird, one of Darwin's finches in the tanager family Thraupidae. Sometimes classified in the family Emberizidae, more recent studies have shown it to belong in the tanager family. It is endemic to the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.
Roberts's warbler, also known as the briar warbler, is a species of bird in the family Cisticolidae. It is found in the Eastern Highlands of Zimbabwe and Mozambique. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist montane forest and subtropical or tropical moist shrubland.
The African warblers are a newly erected family Macrosphenidae, of songbirds. Most of the species were formerly placed in the Old World warbler family Sylviidae, 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 found that the African warblers were not part of Sylviidae but were instead an early (basal) offshoot of the entire clade Sylvioidea. Some taxonomic authorities place the entire family Hyliidae here.
The blue-moustached bee-eater is a species of bird in the family Meropidae. It is found in Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone.
The Bicol ground warbler is a species of passerine bird in the family Locustellidae. I It is endemic to the island of Luzon in the Philippines found in the Southern parts of the island. It. along with the other species it was conspecific including the Cordillera ground warbler and Sierra Madre ground warbler is are one of the most elusive birds in the country. Its natural habitat is tropical moist lowland forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.
