The white-spectacled warbler (''Phylloscopus intermedius'') is a

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 ...

of leaf warbler in the

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 ...

Phylloscopidae Leaf warblers are small insectivorous passerine birds belonging to the genus ''Phylloscopus''. Leaf warblers were formerly included in the Old World warbler family but are now considered to belong to the family Phylloscopidae, introduced in 20 ...

. It is found in Asia from the eastern Himalayas to south-eastern China and southern Vietnam. Its natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

s are subtropical or tropical moist lowland

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

s and subtropical or tropical moist

montane forest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...

s. It was 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, Sylviidae. White-spectacled Warbler Nimachen Sikkim 04

The white-spectacled warbler was described by the English entomologist and ornithologist

Frederic Moore Frederic Moore FZS (13 May 1830 – 10 May 1907) was a British entomologist and illustrator. He produced six volumes of ''Lepidoptera Indica'' and a catalogue of the birds in the collection of the East India Company. It has been said that Mo ...

in 1854 and given the

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 ...

''Abrornis affinis''. In 1898 the Irish ornithologist

John David Digues La Touche John David Digues La Touche (5 June 1861 Tours – 6 May 1935, Majorca (at sea)) was an Irish ornithologist, naturalist, and zoologist. October, 1935 issue. La Touche's career was as a customs official in China. The La Touche family was of Hugue ...

described another bird to which he gave the

''Cryptolopha intermedia''. These two taxa were subsequently considered to belong to the same species and were placed in the genus ''Seicercus''. A

molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

study published in 2018 found that neither ''Seicercus'' nor the closely related genus '' Phylloscopus'' were

monophyletic In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic gro ...

. In the subsequent reorganization the two genera were merged into ''Phylloscopus'' which had priority under the rules of the

International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature The International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) is an organization dedicated to "achieving stability and sense in the scientific naming of animals". Founded in 1895, it currently comprises 26 commissioners from 20 countries. Orga ...

(ICZN). Before the merger, the

nominate 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 ...

was ''Seicercus affinis affinis'' ( Moore, F., 1854) but within the enlarged genus the name ''affinis'' was occupied by

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 ...

''Phylloscopus affinis'' ( Tickell, 1833) which had priority. A new name ''zosterops'' was introduced to replace ''affinis'', but under the rules of the ICZN the subspecies ''intermedius'' now had priority and became the nominate form. Three subspecies are recognised: * ''P. i. zosterops'' Elliott & del Hoyo, 2016 – east Himalayas to south China, north Laos and central Vietnam * ''P. i. intermedius'' ( La Touche, 1898) – central and southeast China * ''P. i. ocularis'' (

Robinson Robinson may refer to: People and names * Robinson (name) Fictional characters * Robinson Crusoe, the main character, and title of a novel by Daniel Defoe, published in 1719 Geography * Robinson projection, a map projection used since the 1960s ...

& Kloss, 1919) – south Vietnam

References

Phylloscopus Birds of Eastern Himalaya Birds of China Birds of Laos Birds of Vietnam white-spectacled warbler Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Phylloscopidae-stub