Winifred's warbler (''Scepomycter winifredae''), also known as Mrs. Moreau's warbler, is a 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 ...

. The species was first recorded and named by the ornithologist Reginald Moreau after his wife. The species was originally described in the genus ''Artisornis'' based on an immature male specimen. The species was found in the Kinole forest north of Uluguru in eastern

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 ...

. The bird is mostly olive green above with the forehead and crown being rufous brown as are the sides of the head and chest. The chin is whitish. Moreau later moved it to the genus ''Scepomycter'' after examining museum specimens and obtaining new specimens of adults through his collector Charles Abdallah who lured the specimens by imitating the low whistles of a ''Malaconotus''. The genus ''Scepomycter'' was traditionally considered

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

, but in 2009 a closely related new species was described, the Rubeho warbler. Alternatively, Winifred's warbler has sometimes been included in the genus '' Bathmocercus'' with which it forms a

clade A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, ...

that is a sister of the genus ''Cisticola''. It 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 elsew ...

to montane forest in the

Uluguru Mountains The Uluguru mountains are a mountain range in eastern Tanzania, named after the Luguru tribe. The main portion of the Uluguru mountains is a ridge running roughly north-south and rising to altitude at its highest point. On the main Uluguru rang ...

. Populations in the Rubeho-

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, a ...

are the very similar Rubeho warbler. The status is listed as

near threatened A near-threatened species is a species which has been categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as that may be vulnerable to endangerment in the near future, but it does not currently qualify fo ...

, due to

habitat loss 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 ...

References

Winifred's warbler Endemic birds of Tanzania Winifred's warbler Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Cisticolidae-stub