The long-billed forest warbler (''Artisornis moreaui''), also known as the long-billed tailorbird, is a

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 5000 ...

of the

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

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 originate ...

, formerly part of 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 ...

" assemblage. It is found in

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

and

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

. Its natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

is subtropical or tropical moist

montane forest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial ...

s. It is threatened by

habitat destruction Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

Taxonomy

The long-billed forest warbler was formally described in 1931 by the British zoologist

William Lutley Sclater William Lutley Sclater (23 September 1863 – 4 July 1944) was a British zoologist and museum director. He was the son of Philip Lutley Sclater and was named after his paternal grandfather, also William Lutley Sclater. Life William's mother, J ...

from specimens collected by

Reginald Ernest Moreau Reginald Ernest Moreau, (29 May 1897 – 30 May 1970), was an English civil servant who worked as an accountant in Africa and later contributed to ornithology. He made studies of clutch size in nesting birds, compared the life-histories of birds in ...

in forest near Amani in the

Usambara Mountains The Usambara Mountains of northeastern Tanzania in tropical East Africa, comprise the easternmost ranges of the Eastern Arc Mountains. The ranges of approximately long and about half that wide, are situated in the Lushoto District of the Tan ...

of eastern Tanzania. Sclater coined the binomial name ''Apalis moreaui'' with the specific epithet chosen to honour the collector. This warbler is now placed with the red-capped forest warbler in the genus '' Artisornis'' that was introduced in 1928 by the American ornithologist

Herbert Friedmann Herbert Friedmann (April 22, 1900 – May 14, 1987) was an American ornithologist. He worked at the Smithsonian Institution for more than 30 years. In 1929 he became a fellow of the American Ornithologists' Union (AOU) and served as the Presiden ...

. Two subspecies are recognised: * ''A. m. moreaui'' (Sclater, WL, 1931) – northeast Tanzania * ''A. m. sousae'' (

Benson Benson may refer to: Animals *Benson (fish), largest common carp caught in Britain Places Geography Canada *Rural Municipality of Benson No. 35, Saskatchewan; rural municipality *Benson, Saskatchewan; hamlet United Kingdom * Benson, Oxfordshire ...

, 1945) – northwest Mozambique Some taxonomists treat ''A. m. sousae'' as a separate species, the Mozambique forest warbler.

Description

The long-billed forest warbler is a small, plump, inconspicuous warbler, growing to a length of about . The upper parts are greyish and the underparts a rather paler grey. The head sometimes has a brownish tinge, and bears

filoplume Feathers are epidermal growths that form a distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on both avian (bird) and some non-avian dinosaurs and other archosaurs. They are the most complex integumentary structures found in vertebrates and a premier ...

s. The beak is long and slender, and the tail is long and is frequently cocked when the bird is excited. The call is a distinctive metallic "''peedoo peedoo''"; this bird is easier to detect by hearing its call than by sight. It is similar in appearance to the red-capped forest warbler (''Artisornis metopias''), but that species has a much shorter beak, a more russet head and a rust-washed breast.

Distribution and habitat

Subspecies ''moreaui'' is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

to the

East Usambara The Usambara Mountains of northeastern Tanzania in tropical East Africa, comprise the easternmost mountain range, ranges of the Eastern Arc Mountains. The ranges of approximately long and about half that wide, are situated in the Lushoto Distr ...

plateau in Tanzania. In the Usamabaras it is present in the

Amani Nature Reserve The Amani Nature Reserve is a protected area located within the Muheza and Korogwe Districts in the Tanga Region of Tanzania, in tropical East Africa. The nature reserve was established in 1997 in order to preserve the unique flora and fauna o ...

and the Nilo Nature Reserve. The East Usambara plateau is known as a

biodiversity hotspot A biodiversity hotspot is a biogeographic region with significant levels of biodiversity that is threatened by human habitation. Norman Myers wrote about the concept in two articles in ''The Environmentalist'' in 1988 and 1990, after which the c ...

and has many endemic species. The Mozambique forest warbler (''Artisornis moreaui sousae'') is endemic to the

Njesi Highlands The Njesi Highlands ( Portuguese: ''Serra Jeci'') are a range of mountains in northern Mozambique. Geography The highlands rise east of Lake Malawi in the western portion of Mozambique's Niassa Province. They are north of Lichinga, the provinci ...

of northern

. Its natural

is evergreen Afromontane forest patches and

riparian forest A riparian forest or riparian woodland is a forested or wooded area of land adjacent to a body of water such as a river, stream, pond, lake, marshland, estuary, canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered chann ...

s. It has been observed between 1,430 and 1,850 meters elevation on the three highest mountains – the Njesi Plateau, Mount Chitagal, and Mount Sanga – in the highlands. It was found in the mid-storey and canopy (never the understorey), particularly around forest gaps and tree falls, forest clearings, and dense vine tangles.

Status

''A. moreaui moreaui'' has a small total area of occurrence which is estimated to be approximately . It is an uncommon, and elusive species occurring at a low density, and the total number of mature birds is estimated to be thirty to two hundred. On this basis, the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of nat ...

has assessed its conservation status as being " critically endangered"; however if its range turns out to be more extensive than is currently recognised, its rating is likely to be lowered to a less threatened category. The total population of the Mozambique forest warbler is conservatively estimated to include 50-249 mature individuals, but may be more numerous, and is considered stable. It is classified as endangered based on its small population and limited range.Samuel EI Jones, Gabriel A Jamie, Emidio Sumbane & Merlijn Jocque (2020) The avifauna, conservation and biogeography of the Njesi Highlands in northern Mozambique, with a review of the country’s Afromontane birdlife, Ostrich, 91:1, 45-56, DOI: 10.2989/00306525.2019.1675795 In 1945 the British ornithologist Constantine Benson identified a second population from bird skins collected by Jali Makawa in the

of northern Mozambique. Benson classified the Mozambique birds as a subspecies of the long-billed forest warbler, ''Apalis moreaui sousae''. The Njesi Highlands and Usambara Plateau are separated by and the bird is not known to occur in the intervening area. The Mozambique race is now sometimes treated as a separate species, the Mozambique forest warbler.

References

External links

BirdLife Species Factsheet for ''Artisornis moreaui''BirdLife Species Factsheet for ''Artistornis sousae''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3315365 long-billed forest warbler Birds of East Africa long-billed forest warbler long-billed forest warbler Taxonomy articles created by Polbot