The apalises are small

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 are distinguished from other orders of birds by t ...

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

s belonging to the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

''Apalis'', in the family

Cisticolidae The family Cisticolidae is a group of about 160 warblers, small passerine birds found mainly in warmer southern regions of the Old World. They were formerly included within the Old World warbler family Sylviidae. This family probably originated ...

. They are found in forest, woodlands and scrub across most parts of

sub-Saharan Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the African co ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. They are slender birds with long tails and have a slender bill for catching insects. They are typically brown, grey or green above and several species have brightly coloured underparts. Males and females are usually similar in appearance but the males are sometimes brighter. The genus was erected by the English naturalist

William John Swainson William John Swainson FLS, FRS (8 October 1789 – 6 December 1855), was an English ornithologist, malacologist, conchologist, entomologist and artist. Life Swainson was born in Dover Place, St Mary Newington, London, the eldest son of ...

in 1833. The

type species In 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 species that contains the biological type specimen ...

is the

bar-throated apalis The bar-throated apalis (''Apalis thoracica'') is a small African passerine bird belonging to the genus ''Apalis'' of the family Cisticolidae. It is native to the eastern and southern Afrotropics. Range and habitat It inhabits forest and scrub ...

. The name ''Apalis'' is from the Ancient Greek ''hapalos'' meaning "delicate" or "gentle". Apalises were traditionally classified in the

Old World warbler 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 ci ...

family Sylviidae but are now commonly placed, together with several other groups of mainly African warblers, in a separate family

. There are about 24 species of apalis; the exact number varies according to differing authorities. The

African tailorbird The red-capped forest warbler (''Artisornis metopias''), also known as the African tailorbird, is a songbird of the family (biology), family Cisticolidae, formerly part of the "Old World warbler" assemblage. It is found in Mozambique and Tanzania. ...

and long-billed tailorbird were formerly considered to be apalises but are now often placed either with the tailorbirds ('' Orthotomus'') or in their own genus '' Artisornis''. The

red-fronted prinia The red-fronted prinia (''Prinia rufifrons''), 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, ...

or red-faced apalis has also been moved into a different genus, ''

Prinia Prinia is a genus of small insectivorous birds belonging to the passerine bird family Cisticolidae. They were at one time classed in the Old World warbler family, Sylviidae. The prinias are sometimes referred to as wren-warblers. They are a ...

''. Further shuffling may be necessary as a recent study found the genus to be polyphyletic, with two species (black-collared and Ruwenzori apalises) only distantly related to the other three tested.

Species list

The genus contains 25 species: *

Bar-throated apalis The bar-throated apalis (''Apalis thoracica'') is a small African passerine bird belonging to the genus ''Apalis'' of the family Cisticolidae. It is native to the eastern and southern Afrotropics. Range and habitat It inhabits forest and scrub ...

, ''Apalis thoracica'' * Yellow-throated apalis, ''Apalis flavigularis'' *

Taita apalis The Taita apalis (''Apalis fuscigularis'') is a bird in the family Cisticolidae that is endemic to the Taita Hills in Kenya. It was formerly considered to be a subspecies of the bar-throated apalis. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical ...

, ''Apalis fuscigularis'' * Namuli apalis, ''Apalis lynesi'' *

Rudd's apalis Rudd's apalis (''Apalis ruddi'') is a species of bird in the family Cisticolidae. It is found primarily in Mozambique but also in southern Malawi and adjacent areas of South Africa and Eswatini. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry ...

, ''Apalis ruddi'' *

Brown-tailed apalis The brown-tailed apalis (''Apalis flavocincta'') is a species of bird in the family Cisticolidae. Taxonomy The brown-tailed apalis was formerly was split from the yellow-breasted apalis as a distinct species by the IOC in 2021. Range It is f ...

, ''Apalis flavocincta'' *

Yellow-breasted apalis The yellow-breasted apalis (''Apalis flavida'') is a species of bird in the family Cisticolidae. Taxonomy The brown-tailed apalis (''A. flavocincta'') was formerly considered conspecific, but was split as a distinct species by the IOC in 2021 ...

, ''Apalis flavida'' * Lowland masked apalis, ''Apalis binotata'' * Mountain masked apalis, ''Apalis personata'' * Black-throated apalis, ''Apalis jacksoni'' *

White-winged apalis The white-winged apalis (''Apalis chariessa'') is a species of bird in the family Cisticolidae. It is found in Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, and Tanzania. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest and subtropical or trop ...

, ''Apalis chariessa'' * Black-capped apalis, ''Apalis nigriceps'' *

Black-headed apalis The black-headed apalis (''Apalis melanocephala'') is a species of bird in the family Cisticolidae. It is found in Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Somalia, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forest, subtropi ...

, ''Apalis melanocephala'' *

Chirinda apalis The Chirinda apalis (''Apalis chirindensis'') 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 lowland forest Tropical an ...

, ''Apalis chirindensis'' *

Chestnut-throated apalis The chestnut-throated apalis (''Apalis porphyrolaema'') is a species of bird in the cisticola family Cisticolidae. The Kabobo apalis, originally described as a distinct species, is usually treated as a subspecies ''A. p. kaboboensis'' of the ches ...

, ''Apalis porphyrolaema'' * Kabobo apalis, ''Apalis kaboboensis'' *

Chapin's apalis Chapin's apalis (''Apalis chapini'') is a species of bird in the family Cisticolidae. It is found in Malawi, Tanzania, and Zambia. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forest. The common name and the Latin binomial commem ...

or chestnut-headed apalis, ''Apalis chapini'' * Sharpe's apalis, ''Apalis sharpii'' * Buff-throated apalis, ''Apalis rufogularis'' * Kungwe apalis, ''Apalis argentea'' * Karamoja apalis, ''Apalis karamojae'' * Bamenda apalis, ''Apalis bamendae'' * Gosling's apalis, ''Apalis goslingi'' * Grey apalis, ''Apalis cinerea'' * Brown-headed apalis, ''Apalis alticola'' Formerly in ''Apalis'' but now moved to ''

Oreolais ''Oreolais'' is a genus of birds in the family Cisticolidae. It contains species that were previously placed in the genus Apalis The apalises are small passerine birds belonging to the genus ''Apalis'', in the family Cisticolidae. They are fou ...

'': *

Black-collared apalis The black-collared apalis (''Oreolais pulcher'') is a species of bird in the family Cisticolidae. It is found in the Cameroonian Highlands forests, western Kenya and the Albertine rift montane forests. The black-collared apalis was formerly pla ...

, ''Oreolais pulchra'' *

Rwenzori apalis The Rwenzori apalis or collared apalis (''Oreolais ruwenzorii'') is a species of bird in the family Cisticolidae. It is found in Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist ...

or collared apalis, ''Oreolais ruwenzorii''

Species list

References

Further reading