Yellow-browed Warbler
Scientific Name: Phylloscopus inornatuMaltese Name: Vjolin tal-Faxx
Family: Warblers (Sylviidae)
Occurence: Very Scarce
Breeds in Malta: No
Overview:
This is one of the smallest warblers, 9.5-10 cm long. Like most other leaf warblers, it has greenish upperparts and off-white underparts. However, its prominent double wing bars – one long and one short –, lighter stripe on the blackish crown, yellow-margined tertial remiges and long supercilia are quite distinctive. This is an abundant bird of lowland and montane woodlands; particularly in winter quarters it may also be found in agricultural areas. Its breeding range extends from the Urals eastwards to China, well north of the Himalayas and its associated mountain ranges. Its winter habitat is lowland broadleaf forest, and in winter quarters it rarely seen north of eastern India and hardly ever at altitudes over 1,000 m. This tiny warbler is prone to vagrancy as far as western Europe in late September and October, despite a 3,000 km distance from its breeding grounds. This bird is not shy, but its arboreal life style makes it difficult to observe. It is constantly in motion. Like most warblers, this small passerine is insectivorous. The nest is built in a tree.
Status:
Very Scarce Autumn migrant. Used to be considered as a rare bird till the late 1990's, with 1-2 (if any) records per year but has now become more regular, with up to 5 records each year.
When to See:
Mostly recorded in October/November.
Where to See:
Can be seen anywhere with good tree cover. Buskett, Simar and Ghadira Nature Reserves are probably the best places to see this species.
Photographs:
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Yellow-browed Warbler, Comino, 26th October 2010 |
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Yellow-browed Warbler, Ghadira Nature Reserve, 30th October 2009 |
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| Yellow-browed Warbler, Simar Nature Reserve, 1st November 2007 | Yellow-browed Warbler, Simar Nature Reserve, 21st January 2004 |
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Chiffchaff & Yellow-browed Warbler, Xemxija, 18th October 1986 |
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