Acrocephalus | |
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Great reed warbler, Acrocephalus arundinaceus | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Passeriformes |
Family: | Acrocephalidae |
Genus: | Acrocephalus J. A. Naumann and J. F. Naumann, 1811 |
Species | |
See text |
The Acrocephalus warblers are small, insectivorous passerine birds belonging to the genus Acrocephalus. Formerly in the paraphyletic Old World warbler assemblage, they are now separated as the namesake of the marsh and tree warbler family Acrocephalidae. They are sometimes called marsh warblers or reed warblers, but this invites confusion with marsh warbler and reed warbler proper, especially in North America, where it is common to use lower case for bird species.
These are rather drab brownish warblers usually associated with marshes or other wetlands. Some are streaked, others plain. Many species breeding in temperate regions are migratory.
This genus has heavily diversified into many species throughout islands across the tropical Pacific. This in turn has led to many of the resulting insular endemic species to become endangered. Several of these species (including all but one of the species endemic to the Marianas and two endemic to French Polynesia) have already gone extinct.
The most enigmatic species of the genus, the large-billed reed warbler (A. orinus), was rediscovered in Thailand in March, 2006; it was found also in a remote corner of Afghanistan in the summer of 2009. Prior to these recent sightings, it had been found only once before, in 1867.
Many species have a flat head profile, which gives rise to the group's scientific name. The genus name Acrocephalus is from Ancient Greek akros, "highest", and kephale, "head". It is possible that Naumann and Naumann thought akros meant "sharp-pointed".[1]
List of species in taxonomic order
The genus contains 43 species of which 6 insular forms are now extinct:[2]
- Basra reed warbler, Acrocephalus griseldis
- Cape Verde warbler, Acrocephalus brevipennis
- Greater swamp warbler, Acrocephalus rufescens
- Lesser swamp warbler, Acrocephalus gracilirostris
- Madagascar swamp warbler, Acrocephalus newtoni
- Seychelles warbler, Acrocephalus sechellensis
- Rodrigues warbler, Acrocephalus rodericanus
- Great reed warbler, Acrocephalus arundinaceus
- Oriental reed warbler, Acrocephalus orientalis
- Clamorous reed warbler, Acrocephalus stentoreus
- Australian reed warbler, Acrocephalus australis
- Millerbird, Acrocephalus familiaris
- † Nightingale reed warbler, Acrocephalus luscinius
- Saipan reed warbler, Acrocephalus hiwae
- † Aguiguan reed warbler, Acrocephalus nijoi
- † Pagan reed warbler, Acrocephalus yamashinae
- † Mangareva reed warbler, Acrocephalus astrolabii
- Nauru reed warbler, Acrocephalus rehsei
- Caroline reed warbler, Acrocephalus syrinx
- Bokikokiko, Acrocephalus aequinoctialis
- Northern Marquesan reed warbler, Acrocephalus percernis
- Tahiti reed warbler, Acrocephalus caffer
- † Moorea reed warbler, Acrocephalus longirostris
- † Garrett's reed warbler, Acrocephalus musae
- Southern Marquesan reed warbler, Acrocephalus mendanae
- Tuamotu reed warbler, Acrocephalus atyphus
- Cook reed warbler, Acrocephalus kerearako
- Rimatara reed warbler, Acrocephalus rimatarae
- Henderson reed warbler, Acrocephalus taiti
- Pitcairn reed warbler, Acrocephalus vaughani
- Black-browed reed warbler, Acrocephalus bistrigiceps
- Moustached warbler, Acrocephalus melanopogon
- Aquatic warbler, Acrocephalus paludicola
- Sedge warbler, Acrocephalus schoenobaenus
- Speckled reed warbler, Acrocephalus sorghophilus
- Blunt-winged warbler, Acrocephalus concinens
- Manchurian reed warbler, Acrocephalus tangorum (sometimes included in A. agricola)
- Large-billed reed warbler, Acrocephalus orinus
- Paddyfield warbler, Acrocephalus agricola
- Blyth's reed warbler, Acrocephalus dumetorum
- Eurasian reed warbler, Acrocephalus scirpaceus
- African reed warbler, Acrocephalus baeticatus
- Marsh warbler, Acrocephalus palustris
Fragmentary fossil remains from the Late Miocene (about 11 mya) of Rudabánya (NE Hungary) show some apomorphies typical of this genus.[3] Given its rather early age (most Passerida genera are not known until the Pliocene), it is not too certain that it is correctly placed here, but it is highly likely to belong to the Acrocephalidae at the least.
References
- ^ Jobling, James A (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 30. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
- ^ Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (January 2020). "Bushtits, leaf warblers, reed warblers". IOC World Bird List Version 11.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
- ^ Bernor R.L.; Kordos L.; Rook L. (2002). "Recent Advances on Multidisciplinary Research at Rudabánya, Late Miocene (MN9), Hungary: a compendium" (PDF). Palaeontographia Italica (89): 3–36.
Further reading
- Olsson, U.; Rguibi-Idrissi, H.; Copete, J.L.; Arroyo Matos, J.L.; Provost, P.; Amezian, M.; Alström, P.; Jiguet, F. (2016). "Mitochondrial phylogeny of the Eurasian/African reed warbler complex (Acrocephalus, Aves). Disagreement between morphological and molecular evidence and cryptic divergence: A case for resurrecting Calamoherpe ambigua Brehm 1857". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 102: 30–44. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2016.05.026.
External links
- Acrocephalus videos Archived 2016-03-14 at the Wayback Machine on the Internet Bird Collection