Most bush warblers are secretive brown birds, adept at clambering through thick shrubbery, and, though vocal, some will not emerge even in response to playback. Although some genera forage actively in mid and upper levels of vegetation, most forage near the ground and many will not flush if alarmed, instead escaping by walking or scurrying away like a mouse. The tesias and stubtails are the most adroit at running through dense vegetation seemingly without disturbing it at all, and with their short tails, relatively long legs, and bounding gait they look like tiny pittas making their getaway.

Winkler, D. W., S. M. Billerman, and I. J. Lovette (2025). Bush Warblers and Allies (Cettiidae), version 2.1. In Birds of the World (S. M. Billerman, B. K. Keeney, P. G. Rodewald, and T. S. Schulenberg, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.scotoc1.02.1