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Greenish Warbler

Greenish Warbler

Phylloscopus trochiloides

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The Greenish Warbler is a small leaf warbler that breeds from north-eastern Europe across temperate and subtropical Asia and winters mainly in India. It is greyish-green above and off-white below with a long pale supercilium and usually a single narrow wing bar. Its populations around the Tibetan Plateau are a classic example of a “ring species”. It has been spreading west and is a regular vagrant further into Europe.

Did you know?

  • It is a classic ring species: its western and eastern forms meet in Siberia and largely do not interbreed.
  • Its name is often cited as a reason to capitalise bird names – a “greenish warbler” could be many birds.

Voice

Song

About the species

Identification

A small, greenish leaf warbler, greyish-green above and pale below, with a pale supercilium. The best mark is a narrow, pale wing bar, which separates it from Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff; Two-barred Warbler usually shows two bars. The song is a cheerful, jumpy phrase with sharp, high notes; the call is a disyllabic “chi-lee”.

Family

Sylviidae

Size

Tiny (goldcrest)

Colours

green, white, yellow, grey

About the habitat

Deciduous and mixed woodland, often with birch, spruce or aspen, forest edges, clearings and stream-side thickets; in the south mountain forests.

Diet

Mainly small insects and other arthropods such as caterpillars, aphids, flies and spiders, gleaned from foliage and twigs, often by hovering.

Behaviour

A restless canopy forager that gleans from leaves and twigs, often hover-gleaning and making short sallies. It nests on the ground in low cover. The song is a loud, jerky, high-pitched trill that varies between populations, and the call is a disyllabic “chi-wee”.

Sources

Photo: Dibyendu Ash, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Greenish Warbler Sikkim India 11.05.2014.jpg

Sound: Jochem Verweij, XC905134, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://xeno-canto.org/905134

Text: Wikipedia (English) + FinBIF species descriptions, CC BY-SA 4.0; FinBIF: CC BY 4.0 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenish_warbler

See also