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Moltoni's Warbler

Moltoni's Warbler

Curruca subalpina

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Moltoni's Warbler is a small warbler that breeds in Mediterranean scrub on the Balearic Islands, Corsica, Sardinia and in northern Italy, and winters in the western Sahel. Once part of the Subalpine Warbler complex, it is now recognised as a distinct species. Males have salmon-pink underparts, while females and young look very like Western Subalpine Warblers and are best told apart by voice. It occasionally turns up as a vagrant in north-western Europe.

Did you know?

  • The former Subalpine Warbler was split into three species: Western and Eastern Subalpine Warblers and Moltoni's Warbler.
  • It is named after the Italian ornithologist Edgardo Moltoni.

About the species

Identification

The male has a blue-grey head and upperparts, a white moustachial stripe and pale salmon-pink underparts extending evenly over the throat, breast and flanks. Females are brownish grey with pinkish-buff underparts. The dry, rattling call is the most reliable feature for separating it from the Subalpine Warblers.

Family

Sylviidae

Size

Tiny (goldcrest)

Colours

grey, orange, white, brown

About the habitat

Mediterranean maquis and scrub, often on hillsides; in winter semi-arid acacia savanna.

Diet

Mainly small insects and other invertebrates gleaned from shrubs and low vegetation; berries outside the breeding season.

Behaviour

A small, active warbler of low scrub with a fast, high-pitched, insect-like song. Its distinctive call is a dry, wren-like rattling “trrrt”. A migrant between Tyrrhenian breeding areas and the Sahel.

Sources

Photo: Paolo Zucca, CC BY 4.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Curruca subalpina 74746110.png

Text: Wikipedia (English), CC BY-SA 4.0 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moltoni%27s_warbler

See also