Eremomela


The eremomelas are a genus, Eremomela, of passerines in the cisticola family Cisticolidae. The genus was previously placed with the larger Old World warbler family Sylviidae prior to that genus being broken up into several families. The genus contains eleven species, all of which are found in sub-Saharan Africa. They occupy a range of habitats, from arid scrub to lowland tropical forest. They are intermediate in appearance between crombecs and apalis, and measure between in length. The sexes are alike in size and plumage.

Taxonomy

The genus was erected by the Swedish zoologist Carl Jakob Sundevall in 1850. The type species is the yellow-bellied eremomela. The genus name Eremomela comes from Ancient Greek ἐρῆμος, meaning "desert", and μέλος, meaning "song, melody".

Species

The genus contains 10 species:
ImageCommon nameScientific nameDistribution
Yellow-bellied eremomelaEremomela icteropygialisAfrica south of the Sahara
Yellow-vented eremomelaEremomela flavicrissalisEthiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Tanzania, and Uganda.
Senegal eremomelaEremomela pusillasouthern Mauritania and Senegal to north western Cameroon, south-western Chad and far north-western Central African Republic
Green-backed eremomelaEremomela canescensKenya and Ethiopia to Cameroon.
Green-capped eremomelaEremomela scotopsAngola, Botswana, Burundi, Republic of the Congo, DRC, Gabon, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe
Karoo eremomelaEremomela gregalisNamibia and South Africa.
Burnt-necked eremomelaEremomela usticollisAngola, Botswana, Eswatini, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Rufous-crowned eremomelaEremomela badicepsAfrican tropical rainforest.
Turner's eremomelaEremomela turneriDemocratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya and Uganda.
Black-necked eremomelaEremomela atricollisAngola, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Zambia.