#nesillas

[every-day-creechur]

Moheli Brush Warbler Nesillas mariae

It is found only in Comoros. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.

image by Kasper R. Berg

[best-bird-tournament]

Nesillas brush warbler

Which is the best bird?

Subdesert brush warbler

Malagasy brush warbler

Voting ended onJun 7, 2025

[a-dinosaur-a-day]

Nesillas

Subdesert Brush Warbler by Francesco Veronesi, CC BY-SA 2.0

Etymology: Island Thrush

First Described By: Oberholser, 1899

Classification: Dinosauromorpha, Dinosauriformes, Dracohors, Dinosauria, Saurischia, Eusaurischia, Theropoda, Neotheropoda, Averostra, Tetanurae, Orionides, Avetheropoda, Coelurosauria, Tyrannoraptora, Maniraptoromorpha, Maniraptoriformes, Maniraptora, Pennaraptora, Paraves, Eumaniraptora, Averaptora, Avialae, Euavialae, Avebrevicauda, Pygostaylia, Ornithothoraces, Euornithes, Ornithuromorpha, Ornithurae, Neornithes, Neognathae, Neoaves, Inopinaves, Telluraves, Australaves, Eufalconimorphae, Psittacopasserae, Passeriformes, Eupasseres, Passeri, Euoscines, Passerides, Core Passerides, Sylviida, Sylvioidea, Acrocephalidae

Referred Species: N. brevicaudata (Grand Comoro Brush Warbler), N. lantzii (Subdesert Brush Warbler), N. longicaudata (Anjouan Brush Warbler), N. mariae (Moheli Brush Warbler), N. typica (Madagascar Brush Warbler), N. aldabrana (Aldabra Brush Warbler)

Status: Extinct - Extant, Least Concern

Time and Place: Within the last 10,000 years; in the Holocene epoch of the Quaternary period  

Nesillas is known from Madagascar and the nearby islands

Physical Description: Nesillas, a group of Brush-Warblers, are small, round passerines from a variety of habitats in Madagascar and the neighboring islands. They range from 15 to 20 centimeters, making them a little bit smaller than the American Robin in terms of size. These birds are brown in color, with the specific shade of brown varying based on species; they all tend to have black stripes across their eyes. They have small, pointed beaks and fairly short tail feathers. They also tend to be darker brown on their backs, wings, and tails; and are lighter brown or even white on their chests and bellies. 

Madagascar Brush Warbler by Brian Ralphs, CC BY 2.0

Diet: These birds feed mainly on small invertebrates, such as spiders, beetles, moths, caterpillars, ants, bugs, flies, grasshoppers, and sometimes seeds. Nesillas forages mainly within the cover and understory of the forest, usually by digging through leaves. They can forage alone or in pairs.

Behavior: These birds make a variety of clackity calls, as well as rattling calls and - as the name suggests - warbles. They also often make sharp notes and whistles, depending on the species. They are usually silent while foraging, and are mostly very shy in terms of general behavior, hiding in the dense undergrowth where they feed. They usually breed starting in August and continuing through January, with the bulk of breeding and nesting occurring in September and October - though this varies based on species. They usually lay between two and three eggs, either high up in the trees or more close to the ground (with the desert dwelling species nesting exclusively on the ground). There is little information available at this time on whether or not they form monogamous pairs, though it doesn’t seem likely. These birds do not migrate.

Ecosystem: Most species in this genus live in evergreen forests, usually at lower elevations; they also can be found in undergrowth and human created habitats. They prefer denser vegetation and forest levels. The Subdesert Brush-Warbler lives in scrubland and along the edges of forests near desert habitats, rather than in denser forests. 

Madagascar Brush Warbler by Heinon Lein, CC BY-SA 4.0

Other: The Madagascar Brush-Warbler and the Anjouan Brush Warbler may actually be the same species; debate is ongoing as to whether or not they are sub-species of the same species, or two different species in the genus.

While most of the species are not threatened with extinction, the Aldabra Brush Warbler went extinct within the 20th century. This is due to its small range (it was only known from one atoll, rather than a small island or Madagascar) and due to introduced mammalian predators, such as rats and cats; habitat destruction probably also played a role in its extinction.

Species Differences:

The Madagascar Brush-Warbler is usually dark brown and olive, with yellowish belly feathers and dark brown cheeks. The Anjouan Brush-Warbler, on the other hand, is more of a yellowish, light brown, and doesn’t have much differentiation between the belly feathers and the back feathers. The Moheli Brush-Warbler is more green along its back, with yellow-orange belly feathers and green stripes along its chest. The Grand Comoro Brush-Warbler has even more extensive striping, with long black stripes going across its neck and lighter brown stripes along the belly, and even some slight striping along the dark brown back. The Subdesert Brush-Warbler is lighter in color than the other species, given that it lives in the desert; it is taupe on its belly, with some darker brown striping on th eneck, and has a slightly darker back. The Aldabra Brush-Warbler had the most distinctive stripe across its eye, with a contrasting white stripe above the black eye stripe; it also was dark brown on its back, and white on its belly.

~ By Meig Dickson

Sources under the cut 

Jobling, J. A. 2010. The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. Christopher Helm Publishing, A&C Black Publishers Ltd, London.

Pearson, D. 2018. Aldabra Brush-warbler (Nesillas aldabrana). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.

Pearson, D. 2018. Grand Comoro Brush-warbler (Nesillas brevicaudata). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.

Pearson, D. 2018. Madagascar Brush-warbler (Nesillas typica). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.

Pearson, D. 2018. Moheli Brush-warbler (Nesillas mariae). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.

Pearson, D. 2018. Subdesert Brush-warbler (Nesillas lantzii). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.