Leaf warblers are small

insectivorous A robber fly eating a hoverfly An insectivore is a carnivorous animal or plant which eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which can also refer to the human practice of eating insects. The first vertebrate insectivores we ...

passerine A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped') which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines generally have an anisodactyl arrangement of their ...

birds belonging to the

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

''Phylloscopus''. Leaf warblers were formerly included in the

Old World warbler The 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 taxo ...

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

but are now considered to belong to the family Phylloscopidae, introduced in 2006. The family originally included the genus ''

Seicercus ''Seicercus'' is a genus of Old World warbler formerly in the family Sylviidae but now placed in Phylloscopidae. Recent scientific studies have recommended synonymizing this genus with ''Phylloscopus,'' and are placed there. The genus is distri ...

'', but all species have been moved to ''Phylloscopus'' in the most recent classification. Leaf warblers are active, constantly moving, often flicking their wings as they glean the foliage for insects along the branches of trees and bushes. They forage at various levels within forests, from the top canopy to the understorey. Most of the species are markedly territorial both in their summer and winter quarters. Most are greenish or brownish above and off-white or yellowish below. Compared to some other "

warbler Various Passeriformes (perching birds) are commonly referred to as warblers. They are not necessarily closely related to one another, but share some characteristics, such as being fairly small, vocal, and insectivorous. Sylvioid warblers T ...

s", their songs are very simple. Species breeding in temperate regions are usually strongly migratory. Phylloscopus

Description

The species are of various sizes, often green-plumaged above and yellow below, or more subdued with greyish-green to greyish-brown colours, varying little or not at all with the seasons. The tails are not very long and contain 12 feathers (unlike the similar ''

Abroscopus ''Abroscopus'' is a small genus of "warbler" in the family (biology), family Cettiidae, formerly included in the Sylviidae. Species It contains the following three species: References

* del Hoyo, J.; Elliot, A. & Christie D. (editors). (20 ...

'' species, which have 10 tail feathers). Many species are more easily identified by their distinctive songs than their dull plumage. These are very small passerines with adult body masses that can vary from and in some cases, such as the Chinese leaf warbler, are among the lightest passerines anywhere. Several of the larger species are similar in size including the large-billed leaf warbler,

Radde's warbler Radde's warbler (''Phylloscopus schwarzi'') is a leaf warbler which breeds in Siberia. This warbler is strongly migratory and winters in Southeast Asia. The genus name ''Phylloscopus'' is from Ancient Greek ''phullon'', "leaf", and ''skopos'', ...

and the pale-legged leaf warbler. Total length can vary from .

Distribution and habitat

Its members occur in Eurasia, ranging into

Wallacea Wallacea is a biogeography, biogeographical designation for a group of mainly list of islands of Indonesia, Indonesian islands separated by deep-water straits from the Asian and Australia (continent), Australian continental shelf, continental ...

and Africa with one species, the

Arctic warbler The Arctic warbler (''Phylloscopus borealis'') is a widespread leaf warbler in birch or mixed birch forest near water throughout its breeding range in Fennoscandia and the northern Palearctic. It has established a foothold in North America, bre ...

, breeding as far east as

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

. Many of the species breed at temperate and high latitudes in Eurasia and migrate substantial distances to winter in southeastern Asia, India, or Africa. One example is Tickell's leaf warbler, which breeds in scrub at high elevation in the Himalayas and on the Tibetan Plateau and then moves down-slope and south to winter in the Himalayan foothills of India and Burma. Most live in forest and scrub and many are canopy or sub-canopy dwellers.

Behavior and ecology

The family Phylloscopidae comprises many small tree-loving warbler species that feed by gleaning insects from leaves or catching food on the wing.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Phylloscopus'' was introduced by the German zoologist

Friedrich Boie Friedrich Boie (4 June 1789 – 3 March 1870) was a German entomologist, herpetologist, ornithologist, and lawyer.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Universi ...

in 1826 to accommodate a single species, the

willow warbler The willow warbler (''Phylloscopus trochilus'') is a very common and widespread leaf warbler which breeds throughout northern and temperate Europe and the Palearctic, from Ireland east to the Anadyr River basin in eastern Siberia. It is strongl ...

, which is therefore considered as the

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

. The name combines the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

''phullon'' meaning "leaf" and ''skopos'' meaning "seeker" (from ''skopeo'', "to watch"). ''Phylloscopus'' is the only genus placed in the family Phylloscopidae that was introduced in 2006 by the Swedish ornithologist

Per Alström ''Per'' Johan Alström (born 9 April 1961) is a Swedish Professor of ornithology. He does research in Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, systematics, and evolution, with birds in Asia as a specialty. Alström works at the Department of Ecology and Genet ...

and coworkers. The genus contains 81 species. Of these, eleven species were formerly placed in the genus ''Seicercus'', but a 2018 molecular phylogeny study indicated that the genus ''Seicercus'' is a synonym of ''Phylloscopus'', leaving the family Phylloscopidae with a single genus, ''Phylloscopus''. *

Wood warbler The wood warbler (''Phylloscopus sibilatrix'') is a common and widespread leaf warbler which breeds throughout northern and temperate Europe, and just into the extreme west of Asian Russia in the southern Ural Mountains. This warbler is stro ...

, ''Phylloscopus sibilatrix'' *

Western Bonelli's warbler The western Bonelli's warbler (''Phylloscopus bonelli'') is a warbler in the leaf warbler genus ''Phylloscopus''. It was formerly regarded as the western subspecies of a wider "Bonelli's warbler" species, but as a result of modern taxonomic devel ...

, ''Phylloscopus bonelli'' * Eastern Bonelli's warbler, ''Phylloscopus orientalis'' * Buff-barred warbler, ''Phylloscopus pulcher'' * Ashy-throated warbler, ''Phylloscopus maculipennis'' * Hume's leaf warbler, ''Phylloscopus humei'' * Yellow-browed warbler, ''Phylloscopus inornatus'' *

Brooks's leaf warbler Brooks's leaf warbler (''Phylloscopus subviridis'') is a species of Old World warbler in the family Phylloscopidae. Distribution and habitat It is found in Afghanistan, India, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Russia, and Turkmenistan, but has been recorded ...

, ''Phylloscopus subviridis'' * Chinese leaf warbler, ''Phylloscopus yunnanensis'' * Lemon-rumped warbler, ''Phylloscopus chloronotus'' * Sichuan leaf warbler, ''Phylloscopus forresti'' * Gansu leaf warbler, ''Phylloscopus kansuensis'' * Pallas's leaf warbler, ''Phylloscopus proregulus'' * Tytler's leaf warbler, ''Phylloscopus tytleri'' * Yellow-streaked warbler, ''Phylloscopus armandii'' *

, ''Phylloscopus schwarzi'' * Sulphur-bellied warbler, ''Phylloscopus griseolus'' * Tickell's leaf warbler, ''Phylloscopus affinis'' (includes the Alpine leaf warbler, ''P. a. occisinensis'') *

Smoky warbler The smoky warbler (''Phylloscopus fuligiventer'') is a species of Old World warbler in the family Phylloscopidae. It is found in the eastern Himalayas, the Tibetan Plateau, and as an occasional vagrant to Myanmar Myanmar, officially the ...

, ''Phylloscopus fuligiventer'' *

Dusky warbler The dusky warbler (''Phylloscopus fuscatus'') is a leaf warbler which breeds in the east Palearctic. The genus name '' Phylloscopus'' is from Ancient Greek ''phullon'', "leaf", and ''skopos'', "seeker" (from ''skopeo'', "to watch"). The specific ...

, ''Phylloscopus fuscatus'' * Plain leaf warbler, ''Phylloscopus neglectus'' * Buff-throated warbler, ''Phylloscopus subaffinis'' *

Willow warbler The willow warbler (''Phylloscopus trochilus'') is a very common and widespread leaf warbler which breeds throughout northern and temperate Europe and the Palearctic, from Ireland east to the Anadyr River basin in eastern Siberia. It is strongl ...

, ''Phylloscopus trochilus'' * Mountain chiffchaff, ''Phylloscopus sindianus'' * Canary Islands chiffchaff, ''Phylloscopus canariensis'' ** Eastern Canary Islands chiffchaff, ''Phylloscopus canariensis exsul'' (

extinct Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

: 1986?) ** Western Canary Islands chiffchaff, ''Phylloscopus canariensis canariensis'' *

Common chiffchaff The common chiffchaff (''Phylloscopus collybita''), or simply the chiffchaff, is a common and widespread leaf warbler which breeds in open woodlands throughout northern and temperate Europe and the Palearctic. It is a bird migration, migratory ...

, ''Phylloscopus collybita'' * Iberian chiffchaff, ''Phylloscopus ibericus'' *

Eastern crowned warbler The eastern crowned warbler (''Phylloscopus coronatus'') is a species of Old World warbler in the family Phylloscopidae. It inhabits boreal and temperate forests in the east Palearctic. Description The eastern crowned warbler is a medium-sized, ...

, ''Phylloscopus coronatus'' * Ijima's leaf warbler, ''Phylloscopus ijimae'' * Philippine leaf warbler, ''Phylloscopus olivaceus'' * Lemon-throated leaf warbler, ''Phylloscopus cebuensis'' * Yellow-throated woodland warbler, ''Phylloscopus ruficapilla'' * Brown woodland warbler, ''Phylloscopus umbrovirens'' * Red-faced woodland warbler, ''Phylloscopus laetus'' * Laura's woodland warbler, ''Phylloscopus laurae'' * Black-capped woodland warbler, ''Phylloscopus herberti'' * Uganda woodland warbler, ''Phylloscopus budongoensis'' *

White-spectacled warbler The white-spectacled warbler (''Phylloscopus intermedius'') is a species of leaf warbler in the family (biology), family Phylloscopidae. It is found in Asia from the eastern Himalayas to south-eastern China and southern Vietnam. Its natural habit ...

, ''Phylloscopus intermedius'' – (previously ''Seicercus affinis'') * Grey-cheeked warbler, ''Phylloscopus poliogenys'' – (previously placed in ''Seicercus'') * Green-crowned warbler, ''Phylloscopus burkii'' – (previously placed in ''Seicercus'') * Grey-crowned warbler, ''Phylloscopus tephrocephalus'' – (previously placed in ''Seicercus'') * Whistler's warbler, ''Phylloscopus whistleri'' – (previously placed in ''Seicercus'') *

Bianchi's warbler Bianchi's warbler (''Phylloscopus valentini'') is a species of leaf warbler (family Phylloscopidae). It was formerly included in the "Old World warbler" assemblage. It is found in China, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam. Its natural habitats are tempe ...

, ''Phylloscopus valentini'' – (previously placed in ''Seicercus'') *

Alström's warbler Alström's warbler (''Phylloscopus soror''), or the plain-tailed warbler, is a species of Old World warbler in the family Phylloscopidae. It was first described in 1999. It breeds only in China and winters as far as Thailand Thailand, ...

, ''Phylloscopus soror'' – (first described in 1999; previously placed in ''Seicercus'') *

Martens's warbler Martens's warbler (''Phylloscopus omeiensis''), also known as Omei warbler or Emei Shan warbler, is a species of Old World warbler in the family Phylloscopidae (or Sylviidae). It was first described in 1999. It is found in China and Myanmar. I ...

, ''Phylloscopus omeiensis'' – (first described in 1999; previously placed in ''Seicercus'') * Green warbler, ''Phylloscopus nitidus'' * Two-barred warbler, ''Phylloscopus plumbeitarsus'' *

Greenish warbler The greenish warbler (''Phylloscopus trochiloides'') is a widespread leaf warbler with a breeding range in northeastern Europe, and temperate to subtropical continental Asia. This warbler is strongly bird migration, migratory and Winter, winters ...

, ''Phylloscopus trochiloides'' * Emei leaf warbler, ''Phylloscopus emeiensis'' * Large-billed leaf warbler, ''Phylloscopus magnirostris'' * Sakhalin leaf warbler, ''Phylloscopus borealoides'' * Pale-legged leaf warbler, ''Phylloscopus tenellipes'' * Japanese leaf warbler, ''Phylloscopus xanthodryas'' * Kamchatka leaf warbler, ''Phylloscopus examinandus'' *

, ''Phylloscopus borealis'' *

Chestnut-crowned warbler The chestnut-crowned warbler (''Phylloscopus castaniceps'') is a species of leaf warbler (family Phylloscopidae). It was formerly included in the "Old World warbler" assemblage. It is found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesi ...

, ''Phylloscopus castaniceps'' – (previously placed in ''Seicercus'') * Sunda warbler, ''Phylloscopus grammiceps'' – (previously placed in ''Seicercus'') * Yellow-breasted warbler, ''Phylloscopus montis'' – (previously placed in ''Seicercus'') * Limestone leaf warbler, ''Phylloscopus calciatilis'' – (first described in 2010) * Sulphur-breasted warbler, ''Phylloscopus ricketti'' * Yellow-vented warbler, ''Phylloscopus cantator'' *

Western crowned warbler The western crowned warbler (''Phylloscopus occipitalis'') is a leaf warbler which breeds in Central Asia. It bird migration, winters in the forests of the Western Ghats. It prefers forests with high foliage complexity and tree density. The ne ...

, ''Phylloscopus occipitalis'' * Blyth's leaf warbler, ''Phylloscopus reguloides'' * Claudia's leaf warbler, ''Phylloscopus claudiae'' * Hartert's leaf warbler, ''Phylloscopus goodsoni'' * Kloss's leaf warbler, ''Phylloscopus ogilviegranti'' – (formerly considered as a subspecies of Davison's leaf warbler) * Hainan leaf warbler, ''Phylloscopus hainanus'' * Davison's leaf warbler, ''Phylloscopus intensior'' – (previously white-tailed leaf warbler, ''Phylloscopus davisoni'') * Grey-hooded warbler, ''Phylloscopus xanthoschistos'' * Mountain leaf warbler, ''Phylloscopus trivirgatus'' * Negros leaf warbler, ''Phylloscopus nigrorum'' * Timor leaf warbler, ''Phylloscopus presbytes'' * Flores leaf warbler, ''Phylloscopus floresianus'' – (formerly considered as a subspecies of the Timor leaf warbler) * Rote leaf warbler, ''Phylloscopus rotiensis'' (first described in 2018) * Makira leaf warbler, ''Phylloscopus makirensis'' * Sulawesi leaf warbler, ''Phylloscopus nesophilus'' – (formerly considered as a subspecies of Lompobattang leaf warbler) * Lompobattang leaf warbler, ''Phylloscopus sarasinorum'' * Kolombangara leaf warbler, ''Phylloscopus amoenus'' * Island leaf warbler, ''Phylloscopus poliocephalus'' * Numfor leaf warbler, ''Phylloscopus maforensis'' * Biak leaf warbler, ''Phylloscopus misoriensis'' Two birds were described in 2020 but have not yet been recognised as species by the

International Ornithologists' Union The International Ornithologists' Union (IOU) is an international organization for the promotion of ornithology Ornithology, from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (''órnis''), meaning "bird", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", ...

. * Peleng leaf warbler, ''Phylloscopus suaramerdu'' * Taliabu leaf warbler, ''Phylloscopus emilsalimi'' The alpine leaf warbler, ''Phylloscopus occisinensis'', was reclassified as conspecific with Tickell's leaf warbler (''P. affinis'') by the IOC, but other authorities such as eBird still consider it distinct.

References

External links

Leaf warbler videos
on the Internet Bird Collection {{Authority control * Taxa named by Friedrich Boie