The warbler Prinia inornata (Plain Prinia) is a common songbird found across large parts of southern Asia, and it is currently divided into ten geographically distinct subspecies. It has been suggested by some ornithologists to possibly be a complex of cryptic species, i.e. several species so similar to each other that they have been taxonomically misclassified as being conspecific. This study used audio recordings to compare songs between individuals from different regions in order to see if there are distinct geographical differences, and if so, how these correspond to the current taxonomy. The comparison was made using two methods: A qualitative auditory analysis, and statistical models (NMDS and PCA) based on measurements from spectrograms.  The results show that two main types of song exist that are highly distinct from each other, each taking up roughly half of the geographical range. The two main types can be further divided into a few subtypes, potentially as many as seven in total. The geographical distribution of these subtypes matches that of some of the current subspecies, but the results do not support the current taxonomy as a whole. It is therefore likely that P. inornata comprises at least two species (corresponding to the two main types), possibly more.

The taxonomy of the taxa in the Prinia atrogularis-khasiana-superciliaris complex has changed several times in recent history. To this day, different world bird lists classify this complex as 1–3 species. These classifications are based mainly on morphological comparisons of museum specimens. No study has analysed the songs and genetics of this complex. This thesis focuses on the integrative taxonomy of this complex by analysing and comparing their song and mitochondrial cytochrome b (cytb) gene. Seventeen different variables from in total 172 individual songs were measured and analysed. A linear discriminant analysis showed a clear separation in song between atrogularis, khasiana and the superciliaris group (latter including the taxa superciliaris, erythropleura, klossi, dysancrita and waterstradti). The mitochondrial cytb phylogenetic tree produced using Bayesian inference suggested that atrogularis and khasiana split from superciliaris around 4.9 million years ago (mya), with atrogularis and khasiana splitting from each other around 3.4 mya. Based on the combined results of the song and cytb analysis I propose to recognise three species: Black-throated Prinia Prinia atrogularis, Rufous-crowned Prinia P. khasiana and Hill Prinia P. superciliaris. The study also showed some support for classifying klossi as a separate species, but acquisition of additional information is needed to verify this.