The Yemen warbler or Yemen parisoma (''Curruca buryi'') 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 ...

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 ...

in the family

Sylviidae Sylviidae is a family of passerine birds that includes the typical warblers and a number of babblers formerly placed within the Old World babbler family. They are found in Eurasia and Africa. Taxonomy and systematics The scientific name Sylviid ...

. It is found on the southeastern slope of the

Sarawat Mountains The Sarawat Mountains ( ar, جِبَالُ ٱلسَّرَوَاتِ, Jibāl as-Sarawāt), also known as the Sarat, is a part of the Hijaz mountains in the western part of the Arabian Peninsula. In a broad sense, it runs parallel to the eastern c ...

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...

and

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

, where 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 ...

subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Geographical z ...

or tropical dry

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. It is threatened by

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 ...

and the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

has assessed its conservation status as being "

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 ...

Taxonomy

The Yemen warbler was first described in 1913, by the Scottish ornithologist

William Robert Ogilvie-Grant William Robert Ogilvie-Grant (25 March 1863 – 26 July 1924) was a Scottish ornithologist. Early life and education Grant born on 25 March 1863 as second son of Capt. Hon. George Henry Essex Ogilvie-Grant, of Easter Elchies, Craigellachie, Sco ...

, as ''Parisoma buryi'' in the babbler

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 ...

Timaliidae. However, examination of its

mitochondrial DNA Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA or mDNA) is the DNA located in mitochondria, cellular organelles within eukaryotic cells that convert chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, such as adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial D ...

, vocalizations, behaviour and form led to it being transferred to the genus ''

Curruca ''Curruca'' is a genus of Sylviid warblers, best represented in Europe, Africa, and Asia. All of these species were formerly placed in the genus '' Sylvia''. Taxonomy The genus ''Curruca'' was introduced by the German naturalist Johann Matthäus ...

'' in the family

. The type locality is Menacha, in

. This warbler is closely related to the brown parisoma (''Curruca lugens'').

Description

The Yemen warbler reaches a length of and has a weight of around . The sexes are similar in appearance and have dark brown upper parts and whitish underparts. The beak is slightly curved, the wings are relatively short and the tail rather long.

Behaviour

The Yemen warbler is found in ''Acacia'' woodland, hedgerows and bushy areas in mountain regions of southwestern Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Its song is a short, thrush-like warble, often sung from a hidden perch. It feeds largely on insects including caterpillars, but also takes fruit and sips nectar. Breeding takes place between March and July, and the male and female stay together for much of the year.

Status

In Yemen, this warbler is often found in '' Vachellia origena'' woodland while in Saudi Arabia it also occurs in woodland dominated by African juniper. It is threatened by a reduction in forest cover as lopping and felling of trees takes place for harvesting fuel and fodder, and little tree regeneration occurs. It is estimated that the total number of individual birds is in the range 3,500 to 15,000, and the

has assessed its conservation status as being "

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q110257500, from2=Q930231 Yemen warbler Birds of the Arabian Peninsula Taxa named by William Robert Ogilvie-Grant Yemen warbler Taxonomy articles created by Polbot