Olive-tree Warbler

About the Olive-tree Warbler

The olive-tree warbler (Hippolais olivetorum) is a species of passerine bird in the family Acrocephalidae, the reed and tree warblers. It breeds in southeast Europe and the Near East. It is migratory, wintering in eastern and southern Africa, from Kenya south to South Africa.

The olive-tree warbler was first formally described as Salicaria olivetorum in 1837 by the English geologist, ornithologist, naturalist and systematist Hugh Strickland with its type locality given as Zante in the Ionian Islands, Western Greece. This species is now classified in the genus Hippolais, the tree warblers, within the family Acrocephalidae. All the "Old World warblers" were formerly classified within the wastebin taxon known as Sylviidae sensu lato but in the late 20th Century molecular studies resulted in this taxon being divided into a number of families.

The olive-tree warbler belongs to the genus Hippolais, this name is from Ancient Greek hupolais, as misspelt by Linnaeus. It referred to a small bird mentioned by Aristotle and others and may be onomatopoeic or derived from hupo,"under", and laas, "stone". The specific name olivetorum is Latin for "of the olive groves... Wikipedia →