Eremomela
| Eremomela | |
|---|---|
| Black-necked eremomela (Eremomela atricollis) in Sakania, DR Congo | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Cisticolidae |
| Genus: | Eremomela Sundevall, 1850 |
| Type species | |
| Sylvia flaviventris Burchell, 1822 | |
The eremomelas are a genus, Eremomela, of passerines in the cisticola family Cisticolidae. The genus was previously placed with the larger Old World warbler family Sylviidae prior to that genus being broken up into several families. The genus contains eleven species, all of which are found in sub-Saharan Africa. They occupy a range of habitats, from arid scrub to lowland tropical forest. They are intermediate in appearance between crombecs and apalis, and measure between 8.5 to 12 cm (3.3–4.7 in) in length. The sexes are alike in size and plumage.
The genus was erected by the Swedish zoologist Carl Jakob Sundevall in 1850. The type species is the yellow-bellied eremomela (Eremomela icteropygialis). The word Eremomela comes from the Ancient Greek erēmos for "desert" and melos for "song" or "melody".