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:

Medium sized bunting, resembling a compact Yellowhammer in shape. Head green with yellow markings and underparts orange-brown. Distinct and characteristic, yellow eye-ring and earth-brown (not rufous) rump in all plumages. Female like male, but duller coloured, with streaked head and chest.

Sound:

Distinct bunting-like timbre with very prominent harmonics. Song simple, but varies from region to region. Sometimes structurally similar to yellowhammer, but slower, more melancholic, and with more clearly audible harmonics f.ex. "tze-ti tze-ti tze-ti tweeeee". Beginning with repeated alternating notes (tze-ti) and ending on a lower note fading out with a rising pitch. Sometimes without the ending note (like yellowhammer). Calls: a vaguely House Sparrow-like "chepp", with a ringing quality, and a sharper cut-off "zeep".

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:Mick Sway, Licence,Link.