Based on phylogenetic research, this complete study of the genus Sylvia describes two new species and establishes identification criteria for all members of the family.
A lengthy introduction explains the background to the research and outlines the main features of the genus. The 25 species are then treated in detail, including the African parisomas, which are here included in the Sylva group.
The species accounts include sections on every aspect of identification, with colour illustrations showing age, sex and racial differences, distribution maps, sonograms, moult and wing diagrams and tables.
"Based on Hadoram Shirihai's field research and interpretation of plumage detail, what we have here is one of the most exciting and detailed reference books . . . ever written on a genus of Old World warblers. . . . The book sets a standard of achievement that is head and shoulders above other monographs and will no doubt receive many accolades as one of the great modern standards in ornithological field study."--Steve Madge, author of The Handbook of Bird Identification for Europe and the Western Palearctic