It referred to a small bird mentioned by Aristotle and others and may be onomatopoeic or derived from hupo,"under", and laas, "stone".

The specific polyglotta is from Ancient Greek polus, "many", and glossa, "tongue" and means "harmonious".

Other vocalisations include a rattling "trrrr", which resembles a house sparrow, a quiet "tuk" and a chattering "chret-chet".

[1] Its typical habitats include bushy woodland, forest edges, thickets, riverside vegetation, orchards and gardens.

Three to five eggs are laid in a nest composed of fine grasses, stems, soft twigs, flakes of bark and lichen.