Biology:Apalis

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Short description: Genus of birds

Apalises
Chestnut throated apalis1.jpg
Chestnut-throated apalis (Apalis porphyrolaema)
Scientific classification e
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Cisticolidae
Genus: Apalis
Swainson, 1833
Type species
Motacilla thoracica[1]
Shaw, 1811
Species

See species list

The apalises are small passerine birds belonging to the genus Apalis, in the family Cisticolidae. They are found in forest, woodlands and scrub across most parts of sub-Saharan Africa.[2] They are slender birds with long tails and have a slender bill for catching insects. They are typically brown, grey or green above and several species have brightly coloured underparts. Males and females are usually similar in appearance but the males are sometimes brighter.[2]

The genus was erected by the English naturalist William John Swainson in 1833. The type species is the bar-throated apalis.[3][4] The name Apalis is from the Ancient Greek hapalos meaning "delicate" or "gentle".[5] Apalises were traditionally classified in the Old World warbler family Sylviidae but are now commonly placed, together with several other groups of mainly African warblers, in a separate family Cisticolidae.[6]

There are about 24 species of apalis; the exact number varies according to differing authorities. The African tailorbird and long-billed tailorbird were formerly considered to be apalises but are now often placed either with the tailorbirds (Orthotomus) or in their own genus Artisornis.[2] The red-fronted prinia or red-faced apalis has also been moved into a different genus, Prinia.[7] Further shuffling may be necessary as a recent study[8] found the genus to be polyphyletic, with two species (black-collared and Ruwenzori apalises) only distantly related to the other three tested.

Species list

The genus contains 25 species:[9]

Image Common Name Scientific Name Distribution
Bar-throated Apalis - South Africa S4E8250 (17142005750).jpg Bar-throated apalis Apalis thoracica Tropical Africa
Yellow-throated apalis Apalis flavigularis Malawi.
Taita apalis Apalis fuscigularis Kenya.
Namuli apalis Apalis lynesi Mozambique
Rudd's apalis, Apalis ruddi, at Ndumo Nature Reserve, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa (28861972221).jpg Rudd's apalis Apalis ruddi Mozambique, southern Malawi, South Africa and Eswatini.
Brown-tailed apalis Apalis flavocincta[10] Ethiopia, Sudan, and Uganda to Somalia and Kenya.
Yellow-breasted apalis, Apalis flavida.jpg Yellow-breasted apalis Apalis flavida Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, DRC, Ivory Coast, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Lowland Masked Apalis 110ND500 DSC8928.jpg Lowland masked apalis Apalis binotata Angola, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Tanzania, and Uganda.
Black-faced Apalis (Apalis personata) (18265650889).jpg Mountain masked apalis Apalis personata Uganda
Black-throated Apalis - Mt.Kenya, Kenya (cropped).jpg Black-throated apalis Apalis jacksoni Cameroon to Kenya,
Apalis chariessa.jpg White-winged apalis Apalis chariessa Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, and Tanzania.
Black-capped Apalis - Ghana S4E1344 (16709329573).jpg Black-capped apalis Apalis nigriceps Sub-Saharan Africa.
Black-headed Apalis - Malawi S4E4723 (17122255647).jpg Black-headed apalis Apalis melanocephala Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Somalia, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe.
Apalis chirindensis 180954811.jpg Chirinda apalis Apalis chirindensis Zimbabwe and Mozambique.
Chestnut-throated Apalis - Uganda H8O3351 (16707119014).jpg Chestnut-throated apalis Apalis porphyrolaema Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda
Kabobo apalis Apalis kaboboensis Democratic Republic of the Congo
Chapin's apalis or chestnut-headed apalis Apalis chapini Malawi, Tanzania, and Zambia.
Sharpe's Apalis - Ghana S4E1388 (17122143127).jpg Sharpe's apalis Apalis sharpii Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.
Buff-throated Apalis 111ND500 DSC9557-1.jpg Buff-throated apalis Apalis rufogularis Angola, Benin, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia.
Kungwe apalis Apalis argentea Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Tanzania.
Karamoja Apalis imported from iNaturalist photo 21665436 on 21 April 2022.jpg Karamoja apalis Apalis karamojae[11] Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya.
Apalis bamendae 81145859.jpg Bamenda apalis Apalis bamendae Cameroon.
Gosling's Apalis iNaturalist.jpg Gosling's apalis Apalis goslingi Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Gabon.
Gray Apalis - Naru Moru - Kenya 06 9002 (17327701652) (cropped).jpg Grey apalis Apalis cinerea Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda.
Brown-headed apalis Apalis alticola Angola, Zambia, Malawi, south-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania and Kenya

Formerly in Apalis but now moved to Oreolais:[12]

References

  1. "Cisticolidae". The Trust for Avian Systematics. https://www.aviansystematics.org/4th-edition-checklist?viewfamilies=164. 
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Sinclair, Ian; Ryan, Peter (2003). Birds of Africa south of the Sahara. Struik. pp. 512, 540. ISBN 1-86872-857-9. 
  3. Swainson, William John (1833). Zoological Illustrations, or original figures and descriptions of new, rare, or interesting Animals, selected chiefly from the classes of ornithology, entomology, and conchology and arranged according to their apparent affinities. Series 2. 3. London: Baldwin and Cradock. Plate 119 text. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/29156244. 
  4. Mayr, Ernst; Cottrell, G. William, eds (1986). Check-list of Birds of the World. 11. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 154. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/14483855. 
  5. Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 50. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4. https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling. 
  6. Roberson, Don. "Cisticolas & Allies Cisticolidae". http://montereybay.com/creagrus/cisticolas.html. 
  7. Lepage, Denis. "Red-faced Apalis (Urorhipis rufifrons) (Rüppell, 1840)". http://www.bsc-eoc.org/avibase/avibase.jsp?pg=summary&lang=EN&id=80C6EC01BDB36D0E&ts=1175160286406. 
  8. Nguembock, B; Fjeldså, J.; Tillier, A.; Pasquet, E. (2007). "A phylogeny for the Cisticolidae (Aves: Passeriformes) based on nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequence data, and a re-interpretation of an [sic] unique nest-building specialization". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 42 (1): 272–286. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2006.07.008. PMID 16949311. 
  9. Olsson, U.; Irestedt, M.; Sangster, G.; Ericson, P.G.P.; Alström, P. (2013). "Systematic revision of the avian family Cisticolidae based on a multi-locus phylogeny of all genera". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 66 (3): 790–799. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2012.11.004. PMID 23159891. 
  10. "Species Updates – IOC World Bird List" (in en-US). https://www.worldbirdnames.org/new/updates/species-updates/. 
  11. Shaw, Philip; Mungaya, Elias (2006). "The status and habitat of Karamoja Apalis Apalis karamojae in the Wembere Steppe, Sukumaland, Tanzania". Bird Conservation International 16 (2): 97–111. doi:10.1017/S0959270906000049. 
  12. Nguembock, B.; Fjeldså, J.; Couloux, A.; Cruaud, C.; Pasquet, E. (2008). "Polyphyly of the genus Apalis and a new generic name for the species pulchra and ruwenzorii". Ibis 150 (4): 756–765. doi:10.1111/j.1474-919X.2008.00852.x. 

Further reading

Wikidata ☰ Q641870 entry