Moltoni's Warbler

About the Moltoni's Warbler

Moltoni's warbler (Curruca subalpina) is a small bird species belonging to the family Sylviidae, often referred to as the typical warblers. This species is native to Italy and islands of the Tyrrhenian Sea. Moltoni's warbler was first formally described as Sylvia subalpina in 1820 by the Dutch zoologist Coenraad Jacob Temminck from specimens collected in Northern Italy. In 1937 C. Orlando named a subspecies of the subalpine warbler Sylvia cantillans moltonii from Sardinia and this is now regarded as a synonym of Temminck's name. This taxon was regarded as a synonym of the subalpine water (Sylvia cantillans) until the 2000s when morphological, phylogenetic and biogeographical data were used to show that Moltoni's Warbler was a valid species which bred sympatrically with Sylvia cantillans. The result was that the subalpine warbler sensu lato was split into three species, the Western subalpine warbler (Curruca iberiae), the Eastern subalpine warbler (Curruca cantillans) and Moltoni's warbler. This species is classified in the genus Curruca in the family Sylviidae.

The specific name subalpina is Latin for "below the mountains". The common name honours the... Wikipedia →