| Cettia | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Cetti's warbler (Cettia cetti) | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Cettiidae |
| Genus: | Cettia Bonaparte, 1834 |
| Type species | |
| Sylvia cetti[1] Marmora, 1820 | |
| Species | |
4, but see text | |
Cettia/ˈtʃɛtiːə/ is agenus of smallinsectivoroussongbirds ("warblers") which make up the core of the newly recognizedfamilyCettiidae. They were formerly placed in theSylviidae, which at that time was awastebin taxon for the warbler-likeSylvioidea. The range of this genus extends from Europe to southeast Asia.
The genus gets its name from theCetti's warbler, itself named after the 18th centuryItalianzoologistFrancesco Cetti.[2]
The cettiid ortypical bush warblers share the lifestyle and relatedadaptations andapomorphies withBradypterus, the other genus called bush warblers. However,Bradypterus is related to the grass warblers ofLocustella andMegalurus and is more distant fromCettia. Both "bush warbler" genera are smallish birds well adapted to climbing amongshrubbery. They are markedly long-tailed birds, at first glance somewhat reminiscent ofwrens.
These are quite terrestrial birds, which live in densely vegetatedhabitats such as thick forest and reedbeds. They will walk away from disturbance rather than flush. Theplumage similarities and skulking lifestyle makes these birds hard to see and identify.
Cettid bush warblers tend towards rich or greyish browns above and buffish or light grey tones below. They have little patterning apart from the ubiquitoussupercilium. Altogether, they appear much like the plainer species amongAcrocephalus marsh warblers in coloration. Megalurid bush warblers tend to be somewhat slimmer and have a very long and pointed tail, but are otherwise very similar.
The genusCettia was erected in 1834 by the French ornithologistCharles Lucien Bonaparte to accommodateCetti's warbler (Cettia cetti).[3] The specific epithetcetti had been chosen in 1820 byCoenraad Jacob Temminck to commemorate the Italian zoologistFrancesco Cetti.[4]
This genus and the genusHorornis have been split.Cetti's warbler (C. cetti), thetype species, seems close to the genusTesia fromSoutheast Asia and neighboring regions. Species in the genusHorornis, such as the famousuguisu (鶯,Japanese bush warbler,H. diphone) and thebrown-flanked bush warbler (H. fortipes) belong to a group that might include the aberrantbroad-billed warbler (Tickellia hodgsoni). This latter species differs wildly in its gaudy colors but inhabitus is a typical "bush warbler".[5][6]
| Image | Common Name | Scientific name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chestnut-crowned bush warbler | Cettia major | South Asia | |
 | Chestnut-headed tesia | Cettia castaneocoronata | Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, and Vietnam. |
 | Grey-sided bush warbler | Cettia brunnifrons | northern Pakistan to central China. |
| Cetti's warbler | Cettia cetti | southern and central Europe, northwest Africa and the east Palearctic as far as Afghanistan and northwest Pakistan. |
