Streaked scrub warbler

The streaked scrub warbler ("Scotocerca inquieta"), also known as simply the scrub warbler, is a small passerine bird. It is the only member of the family Scotocercidae, although some taxonomic authorities expand the family to include the closely-related Cettiidae and Erythrocercidae as well. It is found in Africa and south-western Asia. It is a bird of desert fringes, frequenting scrubby areas, ravines and gorges, and is mainly resident, although local movements can occur outside the breeding season.
Description.
The streaked scrub warbler is a small, skulking desert warbler which cocks its tail over its back. The adults are grey brown above, finely streaked with dark brown. They have a broad pale supercilium and a thin black eyestripe. The underparts are whitish with reddish flanks and vent, the breast is finely streaked. The tail is graduated and dark brown with a white tip. Juveniles are duller.
Voice.
The song of the streaked scrub warbler is distinctive and is rendered as ""zit-zit dweedle-doolredle-doleed"
Habitat.
The streaked scrub warbler is a bird of open desert with a sparse cover of scrub, especially wadi beds with a denser cover than the surrounding desert, as well as scree areas with bushes in ravines and gorges.
Distribution and subspecies.
There are currently eight recognised subspecies of streaked scrub warbler:
Habits.
The streaked scrub warbler nests in low scrub up to 1.5m above the ground, the nest is a domed structure made of grass and twigs and lined with feathers, fur and plant down. It has 1-2 side entrances, if there is a second it is used only as an exit. The clutch size averages 3–5 but varies from 2–5, incubation is roughly two weeks with another two weeks before the young fledge. Its main food is insects but it will also eat seeds which may be very important in winter. It forages on the ground, fossicking through leaf litter and other debris under bushes, and into cavities but will also feed up in the vegetation at times.
Taxonomy.
The streaked scrub warbler was formerly placed in the family Cisticolidae, and then in its own family. D. Winkler et al. now place this species and those included by IOC in Cettiidae and Erythrocercidae in an enlarged family Scotocercidae.
Some authorities have split the streaked scrub warbler into two species, the Saharan scrub warbler ("Scotocerca saharae", including subspecies "saharae" and "theresae") and the Levant scrub warbler ("Scotocerca inquieta", including all other subspecies), an approach which has been followed in the most recent version of the Collins Bird Guide.
Status.
The streaked scrub warbler has a very wide range and is scarce in some places and common in others. No particular threats have been identified and the population is believed to be steady or declining slightly. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern".