The Rubeho warbler (''Scepomycter rubehoensis'') is a

threatened Threatened species are any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of ''critical depensat ...

species of

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 ...

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 ...

. It is found in highland forests in the

Rubeho Rubeho is a town, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and ward in Gairo District in the Morogoro Region of Tanzania, East Africa. As of 2002, the population of the ward was 17,020. Prior to 2012, Rubeho was administered by Kilo ...

–

Ukaguru Mountains The Ukaguru Mountains are a mountain range in central Tanzania. The mountains are in Morogoro region, east of Tanzania's capital Dodoma. The mountains are named for the Kaguru people. The Ukaguru Mountains are part of the Eastern Arc Mountains, an ...

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 ...

. This

cryptic species In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...

was only described in 2009; it having traditionally been included in the closely related

Winifred's warbler Winifred's warbler (''Scepomycter winifredae''), also known as Mrs. Moreau's warbler, is a species of bird in the family Cisticolidae. The species was first recorded and named by the ornithologist Reginald Moreau after his wife. The species was ...

References

*Bowie, R. C. K.; Fjeldså, J. & Kiure, J. 2009. "Multilocus molecular DNA variation in Winifred's Warbler ''Scepomycter winifredae'' suggests cryptic speciation and the existence of a threatened species in the Rubeho–Ukaguru Mountains of Tanzania." ''Ibis'' 151 (4): 709–719. Rubeho warbler Endemic birds of Tanzania Rubeho warbler {{Cisticolidae-stub