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Radde's Warbler

Radde's Warbler

Phylloscopus schwarzi

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Radde's Warbler is a sturdy leaf warbler that breeds in southern Siberia, northern Mongolia, Manchuria and Korea and winters in Southeast Asia. It is brown above with warm buff underparts and a long, broad pale supercilium; the sexes look alike. More ground-dwelling than most leaf warblers, it skulks in dense undergrowth. It is a scarce autumn vagrant to western Europe.

Did you know?

  • It can turn up in western Europe in October, some 3,000 km from its breeding grounds.
  • Its species name honours the astronomer Ludwig Schwarz.

About the species

Identification

A sturdy leaf warbler the size of a Willow Warbler. It is brownish or olive above and warm buffish below, with a strong pale supercilium and a dark eye stripe. The bill is relatively thick and the legs often orange-brown. It is told from Dusky Warbler by its warmer overall tone and a broader supercilium that widens behind the eye, buffish in front of it; Dusky Warbler is colder grey-brown with a thinner supercilium. The call is a soft “chek”.

Family

Sylviidae

Size

Tiny (goldcrest)

Colours

brown, white, yellow, green

About the habitat

Open deciduous and mixed woods with dense undergrowth and bushy edges, often near water; in winter forest edges, thick scrub and grassland near woodland.

Diet

Mainly small insects and other invertebrates found in dense cover, often on or near the ground.

Behaviour

A strongly migratory, skulking warbler that forages low in bushes and on the ground, often cocking its tail. Its call is a soft, nervous “chek”, and its song a rich, trilling phrase. It nests low in a bush, usually laying about five eggs.

Sources

Photo: Jacob She, CC BY 4.0 https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/6129831272

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

See also