Apalis

{{Short description|Genus of birds}}

{{Automatic taxobox

| name = Apalises

| image = Chestnut throated apalis1.jpg

| image_caption = Chestnut-throated apalis (Apalis porphyrolaema)

| taxon = Apalis

| authority = Swainson, 1833

| type_species = Motacilla thoracica{{cite web |url= https://www.aviansystematics.org/4th-edition-checklist?viewfamilies=164 |title= Cisticolidae |author= |date= |website= aviansystematics.org |publisher= The Trust for Avian Systematics |access-date= 2023-07-15}}

| type_species_authority = Shaw, 1811

| subdivision_ranks = Species

| subdivision =

See species list

}}

The apalises are small passerine birds belonging to the genus Apalis, in the family Cisticolidae. They are found in forest, woodlands and scrub across most parts of sub-Saharan Africa.{{cite book | last = Sinclair | first = Ian |author2=Ryan, Peter | title=Birds of Africa south of the Sahara | publisher=Struik | year=2003 | pages = 512, 540 | isbn=1-86872-857-9}} They are slender birds with long tails and have a slender bill for catching insects. They are typically brown, grey or green above and several species have brightly coloured underparts. Males and females are usually similar in appearance but the males are sometimes brighter.

The genus was erected by the English naturalist William Swainson in 1833. The type species is the bar-throated apalis.{{ cite book | last=Swainson | first=William | author-link=William Swainson | year=1833 | title=Zoological Illustrations, or original figures and descriptions of new, rare, or interesting Animals, selected chiefly from the classes of ornithology, entomology, and conchology and arranged according to their apparent affinities | series=Series 2 | volume= 3 | place=London | publisher=Baldwin and Cradock | at=Plate 119 text | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/29156244 }}{{ cite book | editor1-last=Mayr | editor1-first=Ernst | editor1-link=Ernst Mayr | editor2-last=Cottrell | editor2-first=G. William | year=1986 | title=Check-list of Birds of the World | volume=11 | publisher=Museum of Comparative Zoology | place=Cambridge, Massachusetts | page=154 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/14483855 }} The name Apalis is from the Ancient Greek hapalos meaning "delicate" or "gentle".{{cite book | last=Jobling | first=James A. | year=2010| title=The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names | url=https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling | publisher=Christopher Helm | location=London | isbn= 978-1-4081-2501-4 | page=[https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling/page/n50 50] }} Apalises were traditionally classified in the Old World warbler family Sylviidae but are now commonly placed, together with several other groups of mainly African warblers, in a separate family Cisticolidae.{{cite web | last = Roberson | first = Don | title = Cisticolas & Allies Cisticolidae | url = http://montereybay.com/creagrus/cisticolas.html | access-date = 2007-03-29 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070421023042/http://montereybay.com/creagrus/cisticolas.html| archive-date= 21 April 2007 | url-status= live}}

There are about 24 species of apalis; the exact number varies according to differing authorities. The African tailorbird and long-billed tailorbird were formerly considered to be apalises but are now often placed either with the tailorbirds (Orthotomus) or in their own genus Artisornis. The red-fronted prinia or red-faced apalis has also been moved into a different genus, Prinia.{{cite web | last = Lepage | first = Denis | title = Red-faced Apalis (Urorhipis rufifrons) (Rüppell, 1840) | url = http://www.bsc-eoc.org/avibase/avibase.jsp?pg=summary&lang=EN&id=80C6EC01BDB36D0E&ts=1175160286406 | access-date = 2007-03-29 | archive-date = 2007-09-29 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070929160441/http://www.bsc-eoc.org/avibase/avibase.jsp?pg=summary&lang=EN&id=80C6EC01BDB36D0E&ts=1175160286406 | url-status = dead }} Further shuffling may be necessary as a recent study{{cite journal|last=Nguembock|first=B|author2=Fjeldså, J.|author3= Tillier, A.|author4= Pasquet, E.|year=2007|title=A phylogeny for the Cisticolidae (Aves: Passeriformes) based on nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequence data, and a re-interpretation of an{{sic |nolink=yes}} unique nest-building specialization|journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution|volume=42|issue=1|pages=272–286|doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2006.07.008|pmid=16949311|bibcode=2007MolPE..42..272N}} found the genus to be polyphyletic, with two species (black-collared and Ruwenzori apalises) only distantly related to the other three tested.