Leaf warblers are small insectivorous

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 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 ...

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

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 distr ...

'', 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 Th ...

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 Cettiidae, formerly included in the Sylviidae Sylviidae is a family of passerine birds that includes the typical warblers and a number of babblers formerly placed within the Old World ...

'' 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 The Chinese leaf warbler (''Phylloscopus yunnanensis'') is a species of Old World warbler in the family Phylloscopidae. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and subtropical or tropical high-altitude shrubland. It is found ...

, are among the lightest passerines anywhere. Several of the larger species are similar in size including the

large-billed leaf warbler The large-billed leaf warbler (''Phylloscopus magnirostris'') is a species of leaf warbler (family Phylloscopidae). It was formerly included in the "Old World warbler Old World warblers are a large group of birds formerly grouped together in the ...

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 The pale-legged leaf warbler (''Phylloscopus tenellipes'') is a species of Old World warbler in the family Phylloscopidae. The species was first described by Robert Swinhoe in 1860. It is found in Manchuria; it winters in Southeast Asia. Its na ...

. Total length can vary from .

Distribution and habitat

Its members occur in Eurasia, ranging into

Wallacea Wallacea is a biogeographical designation for a group of mainly Indonesian islands separated by deep-water straits from the Asian and Australian continental shelves. Wallacea includes Sulawesi, the largest island in the group, as well as Lo ...

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, b ...

, breeding as far east as

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

. 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 Tickell's leaf warbler (''Phylloscopus affinis'') is a leaf warbler found in Asia in the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and Thailand. The species has a yellowish underside and supercilium. Like other leaf ...

, 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 University ...

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 strongly ...

, which is therefore considered as 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 ...

. The name combines the

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

''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 researches in taxonomy, systematics, and evolution, with birds in Asia as a specialty. Alström works at the Department of Ecology and Genetics (Animal Ecology) a ...

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 deve ...

, ''Phylloscopus bonelli'' *

Eastern Bonelli's warbler The Eastern Bonelli's warbler (''Phylloscopus orientalis''), sometimes known as Balkan warbler, is a "warbler" in the leaf warbler genus ''Phylloscopus''. It was formerly regarded as the eastern subspecies of a wider "Bonelli's warbler" species, ...

, ''Phylloscopus orientalis'' * Buff-barred warbler, ''Phylloscopus pulcher'' * Ashy-throated warbler, ''Phylloscopus maculipennis'' * Hume's leaf warbler, ''Phylloscopus humei'' *

Yellow-browed warbler The yellow-browed warbler (''Phylloscopus inornatus'') is a leaf warbler (family Phylloscopidae) which breeds in the east Palearctic. This warbler is strongly migratory and winters mainly in tropical South Asia and South-east Asia, but also ...

, ''Phylloscopus inornatus'' * Brooks's leaf warbler, ''Phylloscopus subviridis'' *

, ''Phylloscopus yunnanensis'' * Lemon-rumped warbler, ''Phylloscopus chloronotus'' * Sichuan leaf warbler, ''Phylloscopus forresti'' * Gansu leaf warbler, ''Phylloscopus kansuensis'' *

Pallas's leaf warbler Pallas's leaf warbler (''Phylloscopus proregulus'') or Pallas's warbler, is a bird that breeds in mountain forests from southern Siberia east to northern Mongolia and northeast China. It is named for German zoologist Peter Simon Pallas, who fir ...

, ''Phylloscopus proregulus'' * Tytler's leaf warbler, ''Phylloscopus tytleri'' * Yellow-streaked warbler, ''Phylloscopus armandii'' *

, ''Phylloscopus schwarzi'' * Sulphur-bellied warbler, ''Phylloscopus griseolus'' *

, ''Phylloscopus affinis'' (includes the Alpine leaf warbler, ''P. a. occisinensis'') * Smoky warbler, ''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 The plain leaf warbler (''Phylloscopus neglectus'') is a species of Old World warbler in the family Phylloscopidae. It is found in Afghanistan, Bahrain, India, Iran, Oman, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, and Uzbe ...

, ''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 strongly ...

, ''Phylloscopus trochilus'' * Mountain chiffchaff, ''Phylloscopus sindianus'' * Canary Islands chiffchaff, ''Phylloscopus canariensis'' **

Eastern Canary Islands chiffchaff The eastern Canary Islands chiffchaff or Lanzarote Island chiffchaff (''Phylloscopus canariensis exsul'') is an extinct subspecies of the Canary Islands chiffchaff endemic to the island of Lanzarote – and possibly also Fuerteventura – in ...

, ''Phylloscopus canariensis exsul'' (

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

: 1986?) **

Western Canary Islands chiffchaff The western Canary Islands chiffchaff (''Phylloscopus canariensis canariensis'') is a small bird in the family Phylloscopidae. It is a subspecies of the Canary Islands chiffchaff found on the islands of El Hierro, La Palma, La Gomera, Tenerife ...

, ''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 migratory passerine which ...

, ''Phylloscopus collybita'' * Iberian chiffchaff, ''Phylloscopus brehmii'' * Eastern crowned warbler, ''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 Laura's woodland warbler (''Phylloscopus laurae'') is a species of Old World warbler in the family Phylloscopidae. It is found in Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, and Zambia. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical d ...

, ''Phylloscopus laurae'' * Black-capped woodland warbler, ''Phylloscopus herberti'' * Uganda woodland warbler, ''Phylloscopus budongoensis'' * White-spectacled warbler, ''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, ''Phylloscopus valentini'' – (previously placed in ''Seicercus'') * Alström's warbler, ''Phylloscopus soror'' – (first described in 1999; previously placed in ''Seicercus'') * Martens's warbler, ''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 migratory and winters in India. It is not u ...

, ''Phylloscopus trochiloides'' * Emei leaf warbler, ''Phylloscopus emeiensis'' *

Large-billed leaf warbler The large-billed leaf warbler (''Phylloscopus magnirostris'') is a species of leaf warbler (family Phylloscopidae). It was formerly included in the "Old World warbler Old World warblers are a large group of birds formerly grouped together in the ...

, ''Phylloscopus magnirostris'' * Sakhalin leaf warbler, ''Phylloscopus borealoides'' *

Pale-legged leaf warbler The pale-legged leaf warbler (''Phylloscopus tenellipes'') is a species of Old World warbler in the family Phylloscopidae. The species was first described by Robert Swinhoe in 1860. It is found in Manchuria; it winters in Southeast Asia. Its na ...

, ''Phylloscopus tenellipes'' *

Japanese leaf warbler The Japanese leaf warbler (''Phylloscopus xanthodryas'') is a leaf warbler (family Phylloscopidae). The species was first described by Robert Swinhoe in 1863. It was formerly included in the "Old World warbler" assemblage. It is closely related ...

, ''Phylloscopus xanthodryas'' * Kamchatka leaf warbler, ''Phylloscopus examinandus'' *

, ''Phylloscopus borealis'' * Chestnut-crowned warbler, ''Phylloscopus castaniceps'' – (previously placed in ''Seicercus'') * Sunda warbler, ''Phylloscopus grammiceps'' – (previously placed in ''Seicercus'') *

Yellow-breasted warbler The yellow-breasted warbler (''Phylloscopus montis'') is a species of Old World warbler in the family Phylloscopidae. It is found in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Palawan Island in the Philippines. The species is most common on the islands of Sumatra ...

, ''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, ''Phylloscopus occipitalis'' *

Blyth's leaf warbler Blyth's leaf warbler (''Phylloscopus reguloides'') is a species of leaf warbler (family Phylloscopidae). It was formerly included in the "Old World warbler" assemblage. It is found mainly in Southeast Asia, southern China and along the Himalaya ...

, ''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 The Hainan leaf warbler (''Phylloscopus hainanus'') is a species of Old World warbler in the family Phylloscopidae. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest and subtropical or tropical moist montane forest. It is thr ...

, ''Phylloscopus hainanus'' *

Davison's leaf warbler Davison's leaf warbler (''Phylloscopus intensior'') or the white-tailed leaf warbler, is a species of leaf warbler (family Phylloscopidae). It was formerly included in the "Old World warbler" assemblage. It is found in the People's Republic of C ...

, ''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 The Kolombangara leaf warbler or sombre leaf warbler (''Phylloscopus amoenus'') is a species of Old World warbler in the family Phylloscopidae. It is found only in Solomon Islands. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane fores ...

, ''Phylloscopus amoenus'' *

Island leaf warbler The island leaf warbler (''Phylloscopus poliocephalus'') is a species of Old World warbler in the family Phylloscopidae. It is found in an area ranging from the Moluccas to the Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consist ...

, ''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, formerly known as the International Ornithological Committee, is a group of about 200 international ornithologists, and is responsible for the International Ornithological Congress and other international ...

. * Peleng leaf warbler, ''Phylloscopus suaramerdu'' * Taliabu leaf warbler, ''Phylloscopus emilsalimi'' The alpine leaf warbler, ''Phylloscopus occisinensis'', was reclassified as conspecific with

(''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 {{Taxonbar, from1=Q214627, from2=Q1929497 * Taxa named by Friedrich Boie