Streaked scrub warbler
The streaked scrub warbler (Scotocerca inquieta), also known simply as the scrub warbler, is a small passerine bird. It is the only species placed in the genus Scotocerca. It is found in northern Africa and south-western Asia. It is a bird of desert fringes, frequenting scrubby areas, ravines and gorges, and is mainly resident, although local movements can occur outside the breeding season.[2]
The genus is placed in its own family Scotocercidae. Some taxonomic authorities expand the family to include the closely-related Cettiidae and Erythrocercidae.
The streaked scrub warbler was formally described and illustrated in 1830 by the German physician Philipp Jakob Cretzschmar under the binomial name Malurus inquietus.[3][4] This species is now the only bird placed in the genus Scotocerca that was introduced in 1872 by the Swedish zoologist Carl Jakob Sundevall with the streaked scrub warbler as the type species.[5][6] The genus name Scotocerca combines the Ancient Greek skotos meaning "dark" or "darkness" (from skotoō "to darken") with kerkos meaning "tail". The specific inquieta is from Latin inquietus meaning "restless".[7] The genus is placed in its own family Scotocercidae that was introduced in 2012 by Silke Fregin and collaborators.[8][6]
The streaked scrub warbler was formerly sometimes placed in the family Cisticolidae.[9] David Winkler and colleagues include this species in an enlarged family Scotocercidae that includes the families Cettiidae and Erythrocercidae.[10]
Some authorities split the streaked scrub warbler into two species, the Saharan scrub warbler (Scotocerca saharae, including subspecies theresae) and the Levant scrub warbler (Scotocerca inquieta, including all other subspecies), an approach which has been followed in the most recent version of the Collins Bird Guide.[11]
The streaked scrub warbler is a small, skulking desert warbler which cocks its tail over its back. The adults are grey brown above, finely streaked with dark brown. They have a broad pale supercilium and a thin black eyestripe. The underparts are whitish with reddish flanks and vent, the breast is finely streaked. The tail is graduated and dark brown with a white tip. Juveniles are duller.[13]
