Taiwan Bush-Warbler

About the Taiwan Bush-Warbler

The Taiwan bush warbler (Locustella alishanensis) is a species of Old World warbler in the family Locustellidae. It is found only in Taiwan. Its natural habitat is undergrowth and grassland 1,200–3,000 m (3,900–9,800 ft) in elevation. It was first recorded in 1917 and named as a distinct species in 2000. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has assessed it as a least-concern species.

This bush warbler was first recorded from Alishan in 1917. At first, it was thought to be a population of Bradypterus luteoventris. In 1952, Jean Théodore Delacour placed it within subspecies idoneus of B. seebohmi (now split into several species). Later authorities placed it in subspecies melanorhynchus. In the late 1980s, its song was found to be very distinctive, unlike other related species. In 2000, Pamela C. Rasmussen, Philip D. Round, Edward C. Dickinson and Frank Rozendaal described the population as a distinct species, Bradypterus alishanensis, based on its distinctive song and morphological observations. It was later transferred to the genus Locustella. A 2015 study concluded that it was the sister taxon of the russet bush warbler (Locustella mandelli) species... Wikipedia →