Eastern Olivaceous Warbler (Iduna pallida) [XC894301]
by id from U\u00e7hisar, Nev\u015fehir Merkez, Nev\u015fehir, Turkey (song)
Subspecies
Hippolais pallida (Sibley and Monroe 1990, 1993) has been split into Olivaceous Warbler (Iduna pallida) and Isabelline Warbler (Iduna opaca) following Ottosson et al. (2005).
Recent molecular-genetic studies suggest that this species and Booted Warbler (Iduna caligata), Sykes's Warbler (Iduna rama) and Isabelline Warbler (Iduna opaca) are closer to Acrocephalus than to current congeners and could be placed in a separate genus, Iduna. Was formerly regarded as conspecific with Isabelline Warbler (Iduna opaca), but recent work has demonstrated substantial differences between the two in mitochondrial DNA (more than 9%), song, behaviour and morphology, and treatment as separate species seems warranted. Subspecies laeneni is poorly differentiated from, and perhaps better merged with, reiseri.
Proposed subspecies tamariceti (breeding eastern from central Turkey and Middle East) is supposedly slightly paler above and shorter-billed than elaeica, but claimed differences have been found to be due to individual variation rather than geographical.
The following 5 subspecies are recognised:
elaeica (Lindermayer, A, 1843) - Breeds south-eastern Europe (Hungary, Romania east to southern Ukraine, and Slovenia and Croatia south to Greece and Bulgaria), Turkey, Cyprus, western Syria south to northern Israel and western Jordan, northern and southern Caucasus south to Iraq, western and northern Iran, eastern Arabian Peninsula, and from south-western and southern Kazakhstan south to Uzbekistan, southern Turkmenistan and probably northern Afghanistan. Non-breeding central and eastern Sahel region of Africa.
reiseri (Hilgert, 1908) - Breeds in desert habitats of interior Algeria, Tunisia and Libya, possibly also south-eastern Morocco. Non-breeding also south of Sahara Desert.
pallida (Ehrenberg, 1833) - Breeds western and northern Egypt, southern along R Nile possibly to northern Sudan. Non-breeding also Sudan east to Eritrea.
laeneni (Niethammer, 1955) - Central and south-eastern Niger, Chad, northern Nigeria, northern Cameroon and western Sudan.
BirdLife International Species Factsheet