Birds
Somali crombec (Sylvietta isabellina)
The Somali crombec (Sylvietta isabellina) is a small, almost tailless African warbler of dry scrub in Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania. Elliot described it in 1897. The IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern.
In short
The Somali crombec (Sylvietta isabellina) is an African warbler. It was once placed in the Old World warbler family, Sylviidae, and now sits in the family Macrosphenidae (GBIF Backbone Taxonomy; Wikipedia, Somali crombec, backup). It is found in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Tanzania, and its natural habitat is dry tropical shrubland (IUCN Red List, Sylvietta isabellina, 2016).
Elliot described it in 1897 (GBIF Backbone Taxonomy).
The Baroda subspecies
The ornithologist Richard Bowdler Sharpe described a subspecies, gaekwari, named after Sayajirao Gaekwad III, the Maharaja of Baroda in India. It is now considered the same as the main form (Hartert, "Types of birds in the Tring Museum", Biodiversity Heritage Library; British Museum, History of the collections, vol. 2).
What the record shows
More than half of its 39 shared records from Somalia are museum specimens, the oldest from 1896. Records that name a region come mostly from Togdheer and Woqooyi Galbeed, with a few from Hiiraan, Banadir and Lower Juba (see records below).
Records in Somali lands
The Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) holds 39 records of the Somali crombec from Somalia, dated from 1896 to 2025 (GBIF occurrence search, Somalia). By type: 21 museum specimens, 17 sightings by people, 1 other record.
Records that name a region (19 of 39), by region: Togdheer 9, Woqooyi Galbeed 6, Hiiraan 2, Banadir (Mogadishu) 1, Lower Juba 1 (same source).
The oldest dated record is a museum specimen from 1896, from a place recorded as "Le Gud", held by the Field Museum, Chicago (GBIF record 668178078).
The newest dated record is a sighting by a person from 2025, from Togdheer, held by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology (eBird) (GBIF record 6661954295).
GBIF only holds what museums, scientists and observers have shared, so the counts show where the animal or plant has been recorded, not its full range.
Red List status
The IUCN Red List category for the Somali crombec is Least Concern (IUCN Red List assessment; GBIF species page).
Classification
| Rank | Name |
|---|---|
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Class | Aves |
| Order | Passeriformes |
| Family | Macrosphenidae |
| Genus | Sylvietta |
| Species | Sylvietta isabellina |
Scientific name with author: Sylvietta isabellina Elliot, 1897 (GBIF Backbone Taxonomy).
Related pages
Sources
Sources
- GBIF Backbone Taxonomy · gbif.org
- Wikipedia, Somali crombec, backup · en.wikipedia.org
- IUCN Red List, Sylvietta isabellina, 2016 · doi.org
- Hartert, "Types of birds in the Tring Museum", Biodiversity Heritage Library · biodiversitylibrary.org
- British Museum, History of the collections, vol. 2 · archive.org
- GBIF occurrence search, Somalia · gbif.org
- GBIF record 668178078 · gbif.org
- GBIF record 6661954295 · gbif.org
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Where this matters
- Muqdisho (Mogadishu) and BanaadirMogadishu (Muqdisho) is Somalia's capital and makes up the Banadir region, with about 2.97 million people in 20 districts.
- Kismaayo (Kismayo) and Lower JubaLower Juba is the far southern region on the border with Kenya, with the port city of Kismayo (Kismaayo) as its capital and about 1.2 million people.
Related
- Mammals of Somalia: all 191 species on recordEvery mammal species with a record from Somalia in GBIF: 191 species, each with its family, IUCN Red List category and number of records, plus summaries by group and threat level.
- Plants of Somalia: how many, which are found nowhere else, and every listThe plants of Somalia: how many species, how many are endemic, the frankincense and myrrh trees, the yeheb nut and Somali cyclamen, the largest plant families, who collected the records, and links to every plant list.
- Mammals of Somalia: all 191 species on record (part 2 of 2)Part 2 of 2 of Mammals of Somalia: all 191 species on record, from Wahlberg's epauletted fruit bat.
- Reptiles of Somalia: all 224 species on recordEvery reptile species with a record from Somalia in GBIF: 224 lizards, snakes, turtles, tortoises and crocodiles, with family, Red List category and number of records.
- Amphibians of Somalia: all 46 species on recordEvery frog and toad species with a record from Somalia in GBIF: 46 species with family, Red List category and number of records.
- Birds of Somalia: all 709 species on record (part 2 of 5)Part 2 of 5 of Birds of Somalia: all 709 species on record, from Sombre Nightjar.
Keep reading
- Juba weaver (Ploceus dichrocephalus)The Juba weaver or Salvadori's weaver: name, range in the Horn of Africa, Red List status, and its 27 shared records in Somalia from 1901 to 2021.
- Somali bee-eater (Merops revoilii)The Somali bee-eater: what it looks like, where it lives, how it feeds and nests, why the IUCN thinks its numbers may be rising, and its records in Somalia since 1894.
- Somali courser (Cursorius somalensis)The Somali courser: a wader of semi-desert and short grass, how to tell it from the cream-coloured courser, its two subspecies, and its records across Somali regions.
- Somali crow (Corvus edithae)The Somali crow or dwarf raven: size, range, nesting, voice, how it differs from the brown-necked raven, its Red List status and where it has been recorded in Somalia, region by region.
- Somali fiscal (Lanius somalicus)The Somali fiscal or Somali shrike: range, habitat, how it hunts and stores prey on thorns, nesting, Red List status and its records across Somali regions.
- Somali lark (Corypha somalica)The Somali lark, a bird found only in Somalia: its names, its move to the genus Corypha in 2023, its two subspecies including the former Ash's lark, and its records.