Old World Warblers (Sylviidae)

Rüppell's Warbler (Sylvia rueppelli) - HBW 11, p. 706

French: Fauvette de Rüppell German: Maskengrasmücke Spanish: Curruca de Rüppell

Taxonomy: Sylvia ruppeli [sic] Temminck, 1823, Iraklion, north Crete, Greece.
Sometimes considered to form a superspecies with S. melanothorax, but the two differ markedly from each other both phenotypically and genetically. Both are part of a group that also contains S. undata, S. sarda, S. balearica, S. deserticola, S. conspicillata, S. cantillans, S. melanocephala and S. mystacea. Original species name is almost certainly an unintended misspelling; however, original description yields no internal evidence to prove this, or even to justify any doubts; current spelling must therefore be classed as an unjust.. View all taxonomy...

Distribution: Breeds extreme S mainland Greece, the Peleponnese (including Zante), Crete, some of larger islands in Aegean Sea (e.g. Lesvos, Chíos, Samos, Kos), irregularly Rhodes; also W & S Turkey (locally around Sea of Marmara and N fringe of Central Plateau, more commonly W Anatolia and Mediterranean coast E to Gulf of Iskenderun); marginally, NW Syria. Non-breeding in narrow strip of C & E Sahel (mostly Chad and Sudan).