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 in length. The sexes are alike in size and plumage.
Taxonomy The genus was erected by the Swedish zoologist Carl Jakob Sundevall in 1850. The type species is the yellow-bellied eremomela (Eremomela icteropygialis). The genus name Eremomela comes from Ancient Greek ἐρῆμος (erêmos), meaning "desert", and μέλος (mélos), meaning "song, melody".
Species The genus contains 10 species: Image Common name Scientific name Distribution Yellow-bellied eremomela Eremomela icteropygialis Africa south of the Sahara Yellow-vented eremomela Eremomela flavicrissalisEthiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Tanzania, and Uganda. Senegal eremomela Eremomela pusillasouthern Mauritania and Senegal to north western Cameroon, south-western Chad and far north-western Central African Republic Green-backed eremomela Eremomela canescens Kenya and Ethiopia to Cameroon. Green-capped eremomela Eremomela scotops Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Republic of the Congo, DRC, Gabon, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe Karoo eremomela Eremomela gregalisNamibia and South Africa. Burnt-necked eremomela Eremomela usticollisAngola, Botswana, Eswatini, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Rufous-crowned eremomela Eremomela badiceps African tropical rainforest. Turner's eremomela Eremomela turneriDemocratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya and Uganda. Black-necked eremomela Eremomela atricollisAngola, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Zambia.
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