Macrosphenidae

Macrosphenidae, the African warblers, is a family of 18 species of small insectivorous passerine birds in six genera, found across sub-Saharan Africa in habitats ranging from rainforest to arid scrubland and grassland. The family shows considerable variation in size and shape, from the crombecs, around 8 centimeters and 6.5 grams with barely any tail, to the Cape grassbird, 19 to 23 centimeters long with a long graduated tail. Most species are non-migratory, though some West African populations make seasonal movements, and they are generally territorial, monogamous breeders. The German ornithologist Hans Wolters first proposed the group as a subfamily, Macrospheninae, in 1983, but it was not formally defined as its own family until 2012; most of its species had previously been classified within the Old World warbler family Sylviidae.