Appearance:

Unmistakable. Grey, cliff-climbing bird with long, thin and curved bill. Wings with colourful pattern in carmine red, black and white spots. Habitually flicks wings when foraging (see videolink below), but still hard to spot when not flying. Flight jerky and butterfly-like, and also recalls Hoopoe. Wings appear dark from below, except for white pearls on primaries. Male with blackish throat in breeding season.

Sound:

Alarm call a thin trilling "vuiirrrrrrr". Flight call one or several soft whistles, often with (very) short trill as attack or tail. Song variable in length, but main characteristic a sequence of 4-6 long, ascending whistles with timbre recalling whistling kettle. More complex and varied phrases are mixed with the long whistles. Both male and female sings.

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-sound:Philippe Legay, Licence,Link.

CC-photo:gilgit2, Licence,Link.

Appearance:

Small and slender Sylvia about the size of Lesser Whitethroat. The short wings, steep forehead and striking long tail alone is often enough for positive id. Upperparts dark slate grey, and underparts of male vinous red with finely white spotted throat. Female less brightly coloured with more brownish tones and less red underparts. Immature duller still, with brownish underparts rather than red. Yellow base of lower mandible in all ages and sex. Lacks the white moustache-stripe of Subalpine Warbler. Tail frequently held raised. Skulking behaviour. Prefers scrubs/Gorse and is usually only glimpsed when moving low from bush to bush, or when singing from more exposed perch.

Sound:

Contact call a diagnostic, very nasal "chirr", quite different from other Sylvia, and used freely. Warning call a har "tuc". Song similar to Sardinian Warbler, but usually identifiable by frequently interspersed contact calls. Phrases are quite short, and pauses are as long or longer than the actual phrases. Each phrase typicall starts and ends with a more tonal segment than the regular chattering.

Song (with 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

CC-Photo:Marc Kolkman, Licence,Link.

CC-sound:Peter Boesman, Licence,Link.

CC-photo:chausinho, Licence,Link.

CC-Photo:Viskens Michel, Licence,Link.

CC-photo:Ximo Galarza i Planes, Licence,Link.