The Senegal eremomela (''Eremomela pusilla'') is a member of the African warbler family, the

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 occurs in the savannas of western

Sub-Saharan Africa 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 List of sov ...

Taxonomy

The Senegal eremomela was described by the German ornithologist

Gustav Hartlaub Karel Johan Gustav Hartlaub (8 November 1814 – 29 November 1900) was a German physician and ornithologist. Hartlaub was born in Bremen, and studied at Bonn and Berlin before graduating in medicine at Göttingen. In 1840, he began to study and co ...

in 1857 and given its current

binomial name In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

''Eremomela pusilla''. The type locality is Senegal. The species has been treated as

conspecific Biological specificity is the tendency of a characteristic such as a behavior or a biochemical variation to occur in a particular species. Biochemist Linus Pauling stated that "Biological specificity is the set of characteristics of living organ ...

with the

green-backed eremomela The green-backed eremomela (''Eremomela canescens'') is a member of the Cisticolidae. This bird is a common resident breeder in tropical Africa from Kenya and Ethiopia to Cameroon. This tiny passerine A passerine () is any bird of the order ...

, as they hybridizes in a narrow zone of

sympatry In biology, two related species or populations are considered sympatric when they exist in the same geographic area and thus frequently encounter one another. An initially interbreeding population that splits into two or more distinct species sh ...

along the Cameroon-Central African Republic border.

Description

The Senegal eremomela is a small bird with a pale brownish grey head and a pale white supercilium. The back and mantle are green, becoming a brighter yellowish green on the rump, the throat and upper breast are white becoming bright lemon yellow on the lower breast, belly and vent. Blackish bill with a pale lower mandible and pale brownish legs.

Voice

The territorial call is a rarely heard harsh and rapid chattering. It trills constantly when foraging. It joins the morning chorus with a dull monotonous and rhythmic "''whup-whup-whup''" sand from a perch before and at the start of the breeding season.

Distribution

Western Africa from extreme southern

Mauritania Mauritania (; ar, موريتانيا, ', french: Mauritanie; Berber: ''Agawej'' or ''Cengit''; Pulaar: ''Moritani''; Wolof: ''Gànnaar''; Soninke:), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania ( ar, الجمهورية الإسلامية ...

and

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

to north western

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

, south-western

Chad Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic ...

and far north-western

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the DR Congo to the south, the Republic of th ...

Habits and habitat

The Senegal eremomela occurs in small parties which actively forage in wooded savanna, cultivated areas and orchards. It is arboreal and insectivorous feeding on ants, beetles, caterpillars and other larvae, as well as some fruit. It breeds in the first half of the year in the west, although egg laying has been recorded as late as October in the

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

References

* ''Birds of The Gambia'' by Barlow, Wacher and Disley,

External links

Recordings of the Senegal Eremomela at Xeno-Canto
{{Taxonbar, from=Q5429265

Senegal eremomela The Senegal eremomela (''Eremomela pusilla'') is a member of the African warbler family, the Cisticolidae. It occurs in the savannas of western Sub-Saharan Africa. Taxonomy The Senegal eremomela was described by the German ornithologist Gusta ...

Birds of West Africa