Why these drab songbirds are evolving toward a life on the ground

Nature · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: The Locustellidae family of songbirds, once hidden within a taxonomic wastebin, are masters of the scrubland. Known for their insect-like songs and drab plumage, these birds are surprisingly terrestrial. Some species are even beginning an evolutionary transition toward flightlessness, a rare trait among their avian order, the Passeriformes.

Locustellidae, a family comprising 67 distinct species across 11 genera, was only recently formally recognized. Previously, these birds were lumped into a broad, catch-all category for Old World warblers. Their name, derived from the Latin term for grasshopper, reflects the distinctive, buzzing vocalizations of species like the common grasshopper warbler. While they share a brownish, buff-colored appearance with other shrub-warblers, they are generally slimmer and larger, often sporting bold, dark streaks on their wings or undersides.

These birds are primarily found across Africa, Eurasia, and the Australian region. They are exceptionally well-adapted to dense, tangled environments, where they hunt by clambering through thick vegetation or foraging on the ground. This terrestrial behavior is a defining characteristic of the group. Perhaps most remarkably, certain members of the family exhibit the early stages of an evolutionary shift toward flightlessness, a trait that is highly unusual for members of the order Passeriformes.

Taxonomic understanding of the family has shifted significantly in recent years. A comprehensive molecular phylogenetic study published in 2018 by Per Alström and his colleagues revealed that many traditional genus definitions were not monophyletic. This prompted a major revision, including the resurrection of the genera Poodytes and Cincloramphus, and the description of a new genus, Helopsaltes. The study also clarified the family's evolutionary history, noting that the South American black-capped donacobius shares a common ancestor with the Locustellidae, rather than being a type of wren as previously assumed. Within the superfamily Sylvioidea, the Locustellidae are most closely related to the Malagasy warblers of the family Bernieridae.

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