African Warblers

The African warblers are a newly erected family Macrosphenidae, of African songbirds. Most of the species were formerly placed in the Old World warbler family Sylviidae, although one species, the rockrunner, was placed in the babbler family, Timaliidae. A series of molecular studies of the Old World warblers and other bird families in the superfamily Sylvioidea (which includes the larks, swallows and tits) found that the African warblers were not part of Sylviidae but were instead an early (basal) offshoot of the entire clade Sylvioidea.

Species in this family

• Rockrunner Achaetops pycnopygius
• Victorin's Warbler Cryptillas victorini
• Grey Longbill Macrosphenus concolor
• Yellow Longbill Macrosphenus flavicans
• Kemp's Longbill Macrosphenus kempi
• Kretschmer's Longbill Macrosphenus kretschmeri
• Pulitzer's Longbill Macrosphenus pulitzeri
• Moustached Grass-Warbler Melocichla mentalis
• Cape Grassbird Sphenoeacus afer
• Northern Crombec Sylvietta brachyura
• Lemon-bellied Crombec Sylvietta denti
• Somali Crombec Sylvietta isabellina
• White-browed Crombec Sylvietta leucophrys
• Short-billed Crombec Sylvietta philippae
• Long-billed Crombec Sylvietta rufescens
• Red-capped Crombec Sylvietta ruficapilla
• Green Crombec Sylvietta virens
• Red-faced Crombec Sylvietta whytii

Lookalikes compared

• Cape Grassbird vs Victorin's Warbler
• Long-billed Crombec vs Victorin's Warbler
• Red-faced Crombec vs Somali Crombec
• Somali Crombec vs Long-billed Crombec