Appearance:

Small, warm buff warbler with skulking behaviour, but conspicuous song. Similar in size to Reed Warbler, but with short, rounded wings and rounded tail. Build fairly compact, but bill thin and slender. Supercilium thin and dull. Cheeks and underparts greyish white, lacking the purer white belly of confusion species. Pale eye-ring. Under tail-coverts usually brown with pale fringes. Often flicks tail or holds it raised. Usually hides among undergrowth, and shows itself only when moving from one shrub to another.

Sound:

Contact call a short, metallic, ascending "vitt". Often given in rapid series. Song diagnostic, and readily given throughout the year. Phrases last from 2 - 5 seconds, consisting of a few loud, clear and rapid glissandi, given in approximately same register. E.g. "cetti cetti cetti", usually with a few introductory notes, and some variation to the phrase. Overall a very explosive, and with a staccato rhythm.

Song:

Distribution:

Xeno-canto: map

Ecology:

Birdlife ecology

Links:

Observation.org Latest observations

Video IBC

Image search Flickr NB! May give other species

Sound search at Xeno-canto

Featherbase

CC

CC-photo:Agustín Povedano, Licence,Link.

Appearance:

Slightly more compact than Yellowhammer, with shorter wings and heavier bill. In all plumages note; olive to grey rump, greyish lesser coverts and finely streaked flanks. Male unmistakable with black throat and eye-stripe. Female and immature lacks black throat, but have more contrasting eye- and moustache-stripe than Yellowhammer.

Sound:

Song variable, but can generally be described as a Yellowhammer phrase with no ending, or an Arctic Warbler with bunting timbre. Tempo also variable, but rhythm always even. Alarm call a thin "tseeep", similar to Rock Bunting, but more drawn out.

Song:

Distribution:

Xeno-canto: map

Ecology:

Birdlife ecology

Links:

Observation.org Latest observations

Video IBC

Image search Flickr NB! May give other species

Sound search at Xeno-canto

Featherbase

CC

CC-photo:janofonsagrada, Licence,Link.

CC-photo:Le No, Licence,Link.

CC-photo:fra298, Licence,Link.

CC-photo:fra298, Licence,Link.

CC-photo:Marianne Wustenhoff, Licence,Link.