Appearance:

Large and robust warbler with plain plumage, except for the characteristic cap (black in males, rufous in females and juveniles). Upperparts greyish brown and underparts pale grey. Vent white. No white in tail, as opposed to all other black-capped Sylvias in the region. Easily confused with Garden Warbler if the cap is not seen.

Sound:

Song pleasing, varied and loud. Sometimes very similar to Garden Warbler. A typical phrase starts with soft, staccato chattering and mimicry, which after a few seconds changes to a much louder, pure and resonant stream of notes for about 3-5 seconds. No fixed motif, but may end phrases with recurring notes. Often deviates from the characteristic type of song, and identification from song alone may be impossible. May sing first part of song for extended periods without ever reaching the characteristic ending. Alarm call a hard "check", similar to Lesser White-throat. Sometimes with an additional hoarse and nasal "cherrrr".

Alarm call, song:

Distribution:

Wikipedia: map (se also Xeno-canto below)

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

Appearance:

Unmistakable. Extremely long tail and short wings. Fluttering and undulating flight, with peculiar silhouette like a small ball with a long tail. Head of Northern Europe sub.sp. completely white. Continental and British birds with broad, dark supercilium. Juveniles head dark with white crown and throat. Always active and on the move in small groups.

Sound:

Song: Rapid, continuous, randomly composed sequence of bubbling,chirping sounds. Call: quite short, chirping, twittering "tzzirrret tzirrrret". Often starting at high pitch and rapidly falling, or just flat. Also a thin, slightly falling "zi zi ziii".

Contact call:

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