Hyliidae is a

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

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 ...

birds which contains just two species, the

green hylia The green hylia (''Hylia prasina'') is a monotypic genus widespread in tropical Africa, where it mostly inhabits the understory and mid-stratum of moist forest. It is a canopy insectivore which had been tentatively placed within the family of Ce ...

(''Hylia prasina'') and the

tit hylia The tit hylia (''Pholidornis rushiae'') is a species of bird, monotypic within the genus ''Pholidornis''. It is found in rainforests in West and Central Africa. It had been placed in the family Cettiidae, but in 2019 its assignment to a new famil ...

(''Pholidornis rushiae''). Physiological similarities and

molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

studies strongly support the creation of this family. Some taxonomic authorities place the entire family in the

Macrosphenidae The African warblers are a newly erected family Macrosphenidae, of 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. ...

. Hylias are small, insectivorous

songbird A songbird is a bird belonging to the suborder Passeri of the perching birds (Passeriformes). Another name that is sometimes seen as the scientific or vernacular name is Oscines, from Latin ''oscen'', "songbird". The Passeriformes contains 500 ...

s found in tropical

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 frequent the

understory In forestry and ecology, understory (American English), or understorey (Commonwealth English), also known as underbrush or undergrowth, includes plant life growing beneath the forest canopy without penetrating it to any great extent, but abov ...

of wet

tropical forests Tropical forests (a.k.a. jungle) are forested landscapes in tropical regions: ''i.e.'' land areas approximately bounded by the tropic of Cancer and Capricorn, but possibly affected by other factors such as prevailing winds. Some tropical fores ...

Taxonomy

The family Hyliidae was introduced in 1923 by the British ornithologist David Bannerman. The family contains just two species, each of which is placed in its own genus.

Genera

* ''

Pholidornis The tit hylia (''Pholidornis rushiae'') is a species of bird, monotypic within the genus ''Pholidornis''. It is found in rainforests in West and Central Africa. It had been placed in the family Cettiidae, but in 2019 its assignment to a new famil ...

'' – tit hylia (formerly in Remizidae, then tentatively in

Cettiidae Cettiidae is a newly validated family of small insectivorous songbirds ("warblers"), formerly placed in the Old World warbler "wastebin" assemblage. It contains the typical bush warblers (''Cettia'') and their relatives. As a common name, cetti ...

) * '' Hylia'' – green hylia (formerly tentatively placed in Cettiidae)

References

Bird families {{Sylvioidea-stub