Macrosphenidae

Macrosphenidae
	Long-billed sylvietta ( Sylvietta rufescens )
Systematics
Subclass :	New-jawed birds (Neognathae)
Order :	Passerines (Passeriformes)
Subordination :	Songbirds (passeri)
without rank:	Passerida
Superfamily :	Sylvioidea
Family :	Macrosphenidae
Scientific name
	Macrosphenidae
	Wolters , 1983

Macrosphenidae (Bulbül warblers and Sylviettas) is a family of songbirds that was established in 1983 by the German ornithologist Hans Edmund Wolters . Most of the species used to belong to the family of warblers (Sylviidae) and one species - the cliff warbler ( Achaetops pycnopygius ) - to the family of Timalia (Timaliidae). A series of molecular studies of the warbler family and other bird families of the superfamily Sylvioidea , which includes the larks , swallows and timalia, among others , has shown that the species in the Macrosphenidae family are not more closely related to the members of the Sylviidae family, but rather an early one Represent the secondary branch of the entire superfamily Sylvioidea.

features

The body size varies from 8 cm in the genus Sylvietta to 23 cm in the Cape Warbler ( Sphenoeacus afer ). With a weight of 29 to 40 g, the bearded warbler ( Melocichla mentalis ) is the heaviest species in this family. There are considerable differences between the genera in terms of habitus. The Cape Warbler, the Bearded Warbler and the Thicket Warbler ( Cryptillas victorini ) have long, tiered tails, while the Sylvietta species have stubby tails that barely protrude below the tail-covers and folded wings.

habitat

The representatives of the Macrosphenidae family inhabit a large number of habitats south of the Sahara. These include primary rainforests, forest edges and open woodland for the Bulbul Warblers ( Macrosphenus ), wooded savannah and dry scrubland for the Sylvietta species, rocky and scree terrain for the cliff warbler and grassland for the Cape warbler and the bearded warbler. They are mostly resident birds, but the bearded warbler and the brown-bellied sylvietta ( Sylvietta brachyura ) undertake local migrations in western Africa during the rainy season.

Way of life

All members of this family are insectivores. The Bulbulas and Sylviettas forage in the canopy and bushes. They can be observed individually, in pairs or in small groups. The other species tend to be ground dwellers. If there are two sympatric species, such as the red-headed sylvietta and the long-billed sylvietta, the food niches are separated. One species searches for food in the canopy of leaves, while the other species can be found in the lower areas of the bushes and trees. Both Bulbulas and Sylviettas are associated with other bird species.

The breeding season is seasonal and usually coincides with the end of the dry season and the beginning of the rainy season. For species with a large distribution area, this can lead to considerable fluctuations with regard to the exact point in time. There is little information about the breeding behavior of many species, but the species on which studies have been carried out are monogamous and true to territory. Nest building varies within the family. The sylviettas build deep pocket-shaped nests that hang from branches, while the thicket warbler, the cape warbler, and the bearded warbler construct bowl-like nests woven from grass.

Status and protection

The majority of this family is considered to be fairly safe and listed by the IUCN in the “ Least Concern” category. The Angola-Bülbülgrasmücke ( Macrosphenus pulitzeri ) is considered "high risk" ( endangered ). This species is in the woods on the steep slopes in the western Angola endemic . The threat comes from deforestation and slash and burn to gain agricultural land. Presumably fewer than a thousand specimens survive, with the trend continuing to decline. Another taxon that is optionally considered as a species or subspecies is the Lendusylvietta ( Sylvietta (leucophrys) chapini ). It is endemic to the Lendu Plateau in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and was last sighted in 1942. Visits to this region are not possible due to conflicts between hostile groups, but this taxon may already be extinct.

Genera and species

Cape warbler

There are six genera with 20 species:

Genus Sylvietta - Sylviettas

Green-mantled Sylvietta ( Sylvietta virens ) Distribution: Gambia, Senegal, Mali, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria.

Yellow sylvietta ( Sylvietta denti ) Distribution: Guinea, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Ghana and Nigeria.

White- browed Sylvietta ( Sylvietta leucophrys ) Distribution: Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Kenya.

Lendusylvietta ( Sylvietta chapini ) - at times considered as a subspecies of the white-browed Sylvietta. Distribution: Lendu Plateau in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Only known of three specimens collected in 1941 and 1942. Possibly extinct.

Brown-bellied sylvietta ( Sylvietta brachyura ) Distribution: Mauritania, Sierra Leone, Mali, Ivory Coast, Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Sudan, Eritrea, Guinea, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia , Somalia.

Short-beaked Sylvietta ( Sylvietta philippae ) Distribution: Somalia, Ethiopia

Red-eared Sylvietta ( Sylvietta ruficapilla ) Distribution: People's Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Angola, Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique.

Red Goose Sylvietta ( Sylvietta whytii ) Distribution: Ethiopia, Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe.

Isabellsylvietta ( Sylvietta isabellina ) Distribution: Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya.

Long-billed sylvietta ( Sylvietta rufescens ) Distribution: Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Zambia, Malawi, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, South Africa.

Sylvietta leucopsys - at times considered as a subspecies of the brown-bellied sylvietta. Distribution: Ethiopia, Sudan, Djibouti, Somalia, Kenya and Tanzania.

Genus Melocichla

Bluestem singer ( Melocichla mental ) Distribution: Senegal, Liberia, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Angola, Zambia, Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Mozambique.

Genus Achaetops

Clip singer ( Achaetops pycnopygius ) Distribution: Angola, Namibia.

Genus Sphenoeacus

Cape Warbler ( Sphenoeacus afer ) Distribution: Zimbabwe, Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland, Lesotho.

Genus Cryptillas

Thicket warbler ( Cryptillas victorini ) - originally belonging to the genus Bradypterus . Distribution: Western Cape and Eastern Cape, South Africa.

Genus Macrosphenus - Bulbul warblers

Rust-flanked Bulbul Warbler ( Macrosphenus kempi ) Distribution: Sierra, Guinea, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon.

Yellow-bellied black-bellied warbler ( Macrosphenus flavicans ) Distribution: Nigeria, Bioko, Cameroon, Angola, Central African Republic, Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Tanzania.

Monochrome Bulbulas Warbler ( Macrosphenus concolor ) Distribution: Sierra Leone, Guinea, Liberia, Ghana, Cameroon, Bioko, People's Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic, Uganda, Angola.

Angola blackcap ( Macrosphenus pulitzeri ) Distribution: Angola.

Swahili blackcap ( Macrosphenus kretschmeri ) Distribution: Tanzania, Mozambique.

literature

Franz Bairlein , Per Alström , Raül Aymí, Peter Clement , Andrzej Dyrcz , Gabriel Gargallo, Frank Hawkins , Steve Madge , David Pearson, Lars Svensson : Family Sylviidae (Old World Warblers). In: J. del Hoyo , A. Elliot, D. Christie (Eds.): Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 11: Old World Flycatchers to Old World Warblers. Lynx Edicions, 2006, ISBN 84-96553-06-X .

Individual evidence

^ P. Beresford, FK Barker, PG Ryan, TM Crowe: African endemics span the tree of songbirds (Passeri): Molecular systematics of several evolutionary 'enigmas . In: Proceedings of the Royal Society B . tape 272 , 2005, pp. 849-858 , doi : 10.1098 / rspb.2004.2997 , PMID 15888418 , PMC 1599865 (free full text).
↑ Ulf Johansson, Jon Fjeldså, Rauri CK Bowie: Phylogenetic relationships within Passerida (Aves: Passeriformes): A review and a new molecular phylogeny based on three nuclear intron markers . In: Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution . tape 48 , 2008, p. 858-887 ( nrm.se [PDF]).
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Franz Bairlein, Per Alström, Raül Aymí, Peter Clement, Andrzej Dyrcz, Gabriel Gargallo, Frank Hawkins, Steve Madge, David Pearson, Lars Svensson: Family Sylviidae (Old World Warblers). In: J. del Hoyo, A. Elliot, D. Christie (Eds.): Handbook of the Birds of the World . Volume 11: Old World Flycatchers to Old World Warblers. Lynx Edicions, 2006, ISBN 84-96553-06-X .

Web links

Commons : Macrosphenidae - Collection of images, videos, and audio files

[1] P. Beresford, FK Barker, PG Ryan, TM Crowe: African endemics span the tree of songbirds (Passeri): Molecular systematics of several evolutionary 'enigmas . In: Proceedings of the Royal Society B . tape 272 , 2005, pp. 849-858 , doi : 10.1098 / rspb.2004.2997 , PMID 15888418 , PMC 1599865 (free full text).

[2] Ulf Johansson, Jon Fjeldså, Rauri CK Bowie: Phylogenetic relationships within Passerida (Aves: Passeriformes): A review and a new molecular phylogeny based on three nuclear intron markers . In: Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution . tape 48 , 2008, p. 858-887 ( nrm.se [PDF]).

[HBW-3] Franz Bairlein, Per Alström, Raül Aymí, Peter Clement, Andrzej Dyrcz, Gabriel Gargallo, Frank Hawkins, Steve Madge, David Pearson, Lars Svensson: Family Sylviidae (Old World Warblers). In: J. del Hoyo, A. Elliot, D. Christie (Eds.): Handbook of the Birds of the World . Volume 11: Old World Flycatchers to Old World Warblers. Lynx Edicions, 2006, ISBN 84-96553-06-X .