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We present molecular evidence that Neumann’s Warbler Hemitesia neumanni is deeply nested within the Cettiidae. The species’ distribution in the Albertine Rift of East Africa is intriguing, as the family Cettiidae is principally an Asian radiation. This disjunct distribution could be a result of colonization of Africa by long‐distance dispersal, or the Cettiidae may at some point in the past have had...
The distribution of species and species diversity can be affected by vicariance or dispersal. To understand their role in shaping species distribution and population structure these two processes must be estimated within and among populations. I analysed large‐scale variation in the call structure of the Ryukyu Scops Owl Otus elegans. This owl is distributed over a 1200‐km range, and only inhabits...
The monotypic Stone Partridge Ptilopachus petrosus (Galliformes: Phasianidae), restricted to arid rocky areas of the northern savanna belt including the Sahel on the southern border of the Sahara Desert, is a taxonomic enigma. Historically, it has been grouped with Asian forest partridges (Galloperdix and Bambusicola spp.). However, recent DNA‐based phylogenetic research has suggested that its closest...
We investigated phylogenetic relationships among Otus scops owls from Socotra Island, the Arabian Peninsula and East Africa using molecular, vocalization and biometric data. The Socotra Scops Owl Otus senegalensis socotranus, currently treated as a subspecies of the African Scops Owl Otus senegalensis, is more closely related to the Oriental Scops Owl Otus sunia and to the endemic Seychelles Scops...
Barred Long‐tailed Cuckoo (Cercococcyx montanus) currently comprises two morphologically distinct subspecies, one resident in the Albertine Rift (montanus) and one in east and southeast Africa (patulus) in which there are migrations that are poorly understood. Based on nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequences, we find that two specimens collected in relatively low‐elevation forest in the Albertine...
The phylogeography and evolutionary history of the long‐distance migratory Eurasian Reed Warbler Acrocephalus scirpaceus were analysed using sequence data from the mitochondrial DNA COI gene of 405 individuals and cyt b sequences from a subset of those individuals from 20 breeding, migrating and wintering populations over its wide geographical range. Median‐joining network and Bayesian phylogenetic...
The nature of tree‐line habitats in the Andes has long been a contentious topic in the ecological literature. Palynological studies suggest that a combination of anthropogenic and natural processes throughout the Holocene contributed to its present form and species composition. This is the first study to use zooarchaeological evidence to reconstruct possible prehistoric changes in these alpine habitats...
The Pygmy Bushtit is confined to the montane forests of Java. It is the world's smallest passerine and morphologically resembles a small, drab long‐tailed tit or bushtit (Aegithalidae). In its behaviour the Pygmy Bushtit show similarities with the members of the Aegithalidae, but owing to its small size and isolated geographical distribution relative to the other members of the Aegithalidae, it has...
The endangered warbler Bradypterus graueri is endemic to the Albertine Rift, where it is restricted to montane swamps above 1900 m across the region. We studied genetic structure among six populations sampled across the species' distribution in northern Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda and the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. A total of 2117 base pairs of mitochondrial data were sequenced. Phylogenetic...
The bulbuls comprise an ecologically important group of frugivorous, seed‐dispersing birds found in Asia and Africa. Although several studies have examined the phylogenetic relationships of subsets of bulbul species, a comprehensive phylogeny of the family Pycnonotidae has hitherto been lacking. We used publicly available sequences generated from previous phylogenetic studies, augmented by new sequences...
Straight‐billed Hermit Phaethornis bourcieri inhabits the understorey of upland terra firme forest throughout most of the Amazon basin. Currently, two allopatric taxa regarded as subspecies are recognized: P. b. bourcieri and P. b. major. However, the validity, interspecific limits and evolutionary history of these taxa are not yet fully elucidated. We use molecular characters to propose a phylogenetic...
The Cuban Macaw Ara tricolor was a species of macaw native to Cuba and Isla de la Juventud in the Caribbean that became extinct in the 1860s. Morphologically, it was similar to, but distinctively smaller than, the large red macaws – Scarlet Macaw Ara macao and Red‐and‐green Macaw Ara chloropterus. A close affinity with the Scarlet Macaw has been suggested based on plumage similarities. In this study...
We describe the earliest temporally well‐constrained fossil that can be assigned to the Ardeidae (herons), from the lowermost Oligocene (32.0–33.0 million years ago) of Belgium. The specimen, a partial tarsometatarsus, belongs to a small species and is described as Proardea? deschutteri n. sp. It exhibits the characteristic tarsometatarsus morphology found in extant heron species, but a confident...
Accurate species distribution data across remote and extensive geographical areas are difficult to obtain. Here, we use bioclimatic envelope models to determine climatic constraints on the distribution of the migratory Saker Falcon Falco cherrug to identify areas in data‐deficient regions that may contain unidentified populations. Sakers live at low densities across large ranges in remote regions,...
We focus on reconstructing a spatiotemporal scenario of diversification of a widespread South American species, the Pectoral Sparrow Arremon taciturnus (Aves: Passerellidae). This species is widely distributed in both the humid and the dry forests of South America and therefore provides an interesting model for understanding the connection between different biomes of South America. We examined nucleotide...
The Asian songbird crisis which is currently unfolding in Southeast Asia has seen multiple bird taxa go extinct in the wild and even more slip into regional or local extinction over the span of only a few years. The hill mynas Gracula spp. are among its main victims, encompassing the Critically Endangered Nias Hill Myna Gracula [religiosa] robusta and other endangered populations across the West Sumatran...
The fossil record of birds from the Quaternary Period (2.58 mya to present) of North America sheds light on modern patterns of diversity and geographical distribution. Fossils from the late Pleistocene and early Holocene document the presence of multiple species of small rails on the Southern High Plains. Black Rails, Virginia Rails and Soras occurred throughout regional drainages from ~ 11 000 to...
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