Hylias | Hyliidae

Hylia's | Hilias

A small African family of two species, the Green Hylia and the Tit-hylia, recognised as a separate family only after molecular study. It belongs to the warbler group, with the bush warblers and long-tailed tits as its probable closest relatives. Both species live in tropical rainforest and forest edge, reaching northern Angola and Zambia. The Green Hylia is a plain olive-green bird with a pale eyebrow. It is hard to see in dense foliage but is given away by its loud, far-carrying whistle of two or three clear notes. At about 8 cm the Tit-hylia is one of Africa's smallest birds. It forages acrobatically like a tit through the canopy, picking tiny insects, spiders and scale insects from leaves and twigs. The Green Hylia builds a domed nest, while the Tit-hylia makes a large bag of plant fibres that small groups also use for roosting.