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The spectacled warbler (''Curruca conspicillata'') is a 
Spectacled warblerAgeing and sexing (PDF; 4.5 MB) by Javier Blasco-Zumeta & Gerd-Michael Heinze
{{Taxonbar, from=Q110257518, from2=Q757121
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
in the typical warbler
The typical warblers are small birds belonging to the genus ''Sylvia'' in the "Old World warbler" (or sylviid warbler) family (biology), family Sylviidae.Del Hoyo, J.; Elliot, A., & Christie, D. (editors). (2006). ''Handbook of the Birds of the ...
genus, ''Curruca''. The specific ''conspicillata'' is from Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
''conspicillum'', a place to look from, equivalent to "spectacled".
It breeds in northwest 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 ...
, southwest Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
from Iberia
The Iberian Peninsula (),
**
* Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica''
**
**
* french: Péninsule Ibérique
* mwl, Península Eibérica
* eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...
to Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
, and then further east on the eastern Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...
islands and coastal regions. It is mainly resident in Africa, but other populations migrate
Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration
* Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another
** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...
to winter more widely in north and west 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 ...
and Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
. This 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 ...
is a rare vagrant to northern and western Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
.
It also occurs in some Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
islands. The subspecies
In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...
''orbitalis'' has been proposed for those of the Cape Verde Islands
, national_anthem = ()
, official_languages = Portuguese
, national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole
, capital = Praia
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, demonym ...
. The presumed subspecies for the Madeira
)
, anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira")
, song_type = Regional anthem
, image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg
, map_alt=Location of Madeira
, map_caption=Location of Madeira
, subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...
birds, ''bella'', is today usually included in this taxon
In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular nam ...
, as are the birds of the Canary Islands
The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...
, where the species is quite common except on El Hierro
El Hierro, nicknamed ''Isla del Meridiano'' (the "Meridian Island"), is the second-smallest and farthest-south and -west of the Canary Islands (an autonomous community of Spain), in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa, with a populatio ...
and known as ''zarzalero y ratonero''.
These are very small "warblers" and are intermediate between common whitethroat
The common whitethroat or greater whitethroat (''Curruca communis'') is a common and widespread typical warbler which breeds throughout Europe and across much of temperate western Asia. This small passerine bird is strongly migratory, and winter ...
s and Tristram's warbler
Tristram's warbler (''Curruca deserticola'') is a species of Old World warbler in the family Sylviidae.
It is found in Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia, and Western Sahara.
Its natural habitat is subtropical dry shrubland.
The speci ...
in coloration. Spectacled warblers are brown above and buff below, with chestnut wing patches and a white throat. Adult males have a grey head and the white eye ring which gives the species its name. Immature birds can be confused with both the whitethroat and the western subalpine warbler
The western subalpine warbler (''Curruca iberiae'') is a small typical warbler which breeds in the southernmost areas of Europe and north-western Africa.
Like most ''Curruca'' species, it has distinct male and female plumages. The adult male has ...
, and identification is difficult in the field. The song is a fast high warble.
About the precise relationships of this bird, not much can be said with certainty. It seems as if its intermediate appearance, apart from the autapomorph
In phylogenetics, an autapomorphy is a distinctive feature, known as a derived trait, that is unique to a given taxon. That is, it is found only in one taxon, but not found in any others or outgroup taxa, not even those most closely related to t ...
ic white eye ring, indicates its relationships reasonably well. At least, it is not the closest living relative of Tristram's warbler.Jønsson, Knud A. and Fjeldså, Jon (2006): A phylogenetic supertree of oscine passerine birds (Aves: Passeri). '' Zool. Scripta'' 35(2): 149–186.
These small 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 are found in dry open country with bushes. 3-6 eggs are laid in a nest in a bush. Like its relatives, the spectacled warbler is insectivorous.
References
Further reading
*Shirihai, Hadoram
Hadoram Shirihai (born in Israel 1962) is an Israeli ornithologist and writer.
Biography
Shirihai is the son of Batia and Eli Shirihai. His mother was a schoolteacher, his father was a zoologist in Israel. He grew up in Jerusalem where he became ...
, Alan Harris and David Cottridge (1991) Identification of Spectacled Warbler '' British Birds'' 84(10):423-430
External links
* * Madeira BirdsSpectacled warbler
{{Taxonbar, from=Q110257518, from2=Q757121
spectacled warbler
The spectacled warbler (''Curruca conspicillata'') is a species in the typical warbler genus, ''Curruca''. The specific ''conspicillata'' is from Latin ''conspicillum'', a place to look from, equivalent to "spectacled".
It breeds in northwest ...
Birds of Southern Europe
Birds of Macaronesia
Birds of North Africa
Birds of Western Asia
spectacled warbler
The spectacled warbler (''Curruca conspicillata'') is a species in the typical warbler genus, ''Curruca''. The specific ''conspicillata'' is from Latin ''conspicillum'', a place to look from, equivalent to "spectacled".
It breeds in northwest ...