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Old World Warblers (Sylviidae)

Orphean Warbler (Sylvia hortensis) - HBW 11, p. 697

French: Fauvette orphée German: Orpheusgrasmücke Spanish: Curruca Mirlona
Other common names: Red Sea Warbler; Blanford’s Warbler (somaliensis and blanfordi)

Taxonomy: Motacilla hortensis J. F. Gmelin, 1789, France.
Has sometimes been considered to form a superspecies with S. leucomelaena, but the two differ significantly in e.g. size, iris colour, tail pattern and tail movements, juvenile plumage and voice. Recent phenotypic and genetic studies suggest that both are closely related to, and form a clade with, S. buryi and S. lugens. Races of present species constitute two groups, one in W (nominate) and the other in E (the remaining three races); recent studies indicate that these two groups differ markedly from each other in mitochondrial DNA and constantly so in plumage, mou.. View all taxonomy...

Taxonomy: Motacilla hortensis J. F. Gmelin, 1789, France.
Has sometimes been considered to form a superspecies with S. leucomelaena, but the two differ significantly in e.g. size, iris colour, tail pattern and tail movements, juvenile plumage and voice. Recent phenotypic and genetic studies suggest that both are closely related to, and form a clade with, S. buryi and S. lugens. Races of present species constitute two groups, one in W (nominate) and the other in E (the remaining three races); recent studies indicate that these two groups differ markedly from each other in mitochondrial DNA and constantly so in plumage, moult pattern, bill morphology and song, suggesting that they should perhaps be treated as separate species. Within E group, racial differences rather slight and clinal, plumage becoming paler and greyer, hood blacker, size larger, and bill and tail longer from E to W. Four subspecies recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution:

  • hortensis (J. F. Gmelin, 1789) - breeds SW & S Europe (E to Switzerland and Italy) and NW Africa (SW Morocco E to NE Libya); non-breeding W Sahel (Senegal E to Niger and Chad).
  • crassirostris Cretzschmar, 1830 - breeds SE Europe (E from Slovenia) E to Turkey, Levant, NW Iran and W Azerbaijan; non-breeding mainly Sudan E to W Yemen.
  • balchanica Zarudny & Bilkevich, 1918 - breeds from SW Caspian Sea region and NE Iraq E to SE Turkmenistan and SE Iran; non-breeding S Iran, S Pakistan and SE Arabia (United Arab Emirates, Oman).
  • jerdoni (Blyth, 1847) - breeds S Kazakhstan, E Uzbekistan and W Kyrgyzstan S to Afghanistan, also extreme SE Iran and W Pakistan; non-breeding India.

Photos

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