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.
The Sri Lanka bush warbler, also known as Ceylon bush warbler or Palliser's warbler, is an Old World warbler which is an endemic resident breeder in Sri Lanka, where it is the only bush warbler.
The bristled grassbird is a small passerine bird in the genus Schoenicola. Also known as the bristled grass warbler, this species is endemic to the Indian subcontinent, where it is patchily distributed in Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan. These insectivorous birds skulk in dense and tall grasslands, often in marshy areas, habitats that are threatened by human activities. Formerly considered to be sedentary, the species may be migratory, moving south and east in the Indian peninsula during winter and returning to their breeding grounds in the northern plains south of the Himalayas.
The Cape grassbird or Cape grass warbler is an African warbler found in southern Africa. It is the only species placed in the genus Sphenoeacus.
The grey emutail, also known as the Madagascan grassbird or feather-tailed warbler, is an emutail in the family Locustellidae. It is found only in Madagascar. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist shrubland and shrub-dominated wetland.
The Sulawesi bush warbler is a species of Old World warbler in the family Locustellidae. It is endemic to the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia where it is found on the forest floor.
The Indian grassbird is a passerine bird in the family Pellorneidae. It was formerly placed in the Old World warbler family, Sylviidae, and the Old World babbler family, Timaliidae.
The Fly River grassbird is a species of Old World warbler in the family Locustellidae. It is found in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. Its natural habitats are freshwater marshes and lakes. It is threatened by habitat loss.
The little grassbird is a species of Old World warbler in the family Locustellidae. It is found in Australia and in West Papua, Indonesia. These sexually monomorphic birds are found in reed beds, rushes, lignum swamps and salt marshes of Southeastern Australia.
The striated grassbird is an "Old World warbler" species in the family Locustellidae. It was formerly placed in the family Sylviidae. It is now the only species placed in the genus Megalurus.
The marsh grassbird, also known as the Japanese swamp warbler, is a species of Old World warbler in the family Locustellidae. It is found in China, Japan, South Korea, Mongolia, and Russia.
The tawny grassbird is a large songbird that is part of the grass- and bush-warbler family (Locustellidae) commonly found in grassland and reedbed habitats. It is streaked above and has a distinctive rich brown cap. Its underside is paler and it has a long graduated tail. They call often with "loud, grumpy churring calls and a longer call that starts tick-tick-tick-tick and ends with an explosive descending trill".
The fan-tailed grassbird or broad-tailed warbler is an African species of Old World warbler in the family Locustellidae. The species is closely related to the broad-tailed grassbird of India, and is sometimes treated as the same species, although a 2018 study found that it and the broad-tailed grassbird were not closely related, with the Indian species being a sister of Chaetornis striata.
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-capped crombec is a species of African warbler, formerly placed in the family Sylviidae.
Locustellidae is a newly recognized family of small insectivorous songbirds ("warblers"), formerly placed in the Old World warbler "wastebin" family. It contains the grass warblers, grassbirds, and the Bradypterus "bush warblers". These birds occur mainly in Eurasia, Africa, and the Australian region. The family name is sometimes given as Megaluridae, but Locustellidae has priority.
The red-winged grey warbler is a small to medium size bird in the family Cisticolidae that is native to Central Africa. It is the only species placed in the genus Drymocichla. It is mostly grey with a white underside, a long tail and a prominent red patch on the wing. It is commonly found in swamp and savanna-like environments where it breeds in the rainy season. The sexes are alike.
The red-fronted prinia, also known as the red-fronted warbler and the red-faced apalis, is a species of bird in the family Cisticolidae. It is found in Chad, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda. Its natural habitat is dry savanna.
The Papuan grassbird is a species of typical grassbird in the family Locustellidae. The species was once treated as several subspecies of the tawny grassbird, but the two do not interbreed where their ranges are sympatric. The species is endemic to New Guinea and its satellite islands. There are seven subspecies ranging across montane areas of New Guinea, New Britain and New Ireland. It is a fairly large typical grassbird, 20–23 cm (7.9–9.1 in) long and weighing 40 g (1.4 oz).
The African warblers are a newly erected family Macrosphenidae, of African 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.
