Yellow-browed warbler

Phylloscopus inornatus

Photo by J. Sagardía (Birding in Lanzarote)

Common name:

yellow-browed warbler (en); felosa-bilistada (pt); pouillot à grands sourcils (fr); mosquitero bilistado (es); gelbbrauen-laubsänger (de)

Taxonomy:

Order Passeriformes

Family Sylviidae

Range:

This Asian species is found breeding from just west of the Ural Mountains to eastern Siberia, Mongolia and north-eastern China. They winter from north-eastern India, through southern China to Taiwan, and south to the Malay Peninsula.

Size:

These birds are 9-11 cm long and have a wingspan of 17-19 cm. They weigh 4-9 g.

Habitat:

Yellow-browed warblers breed in lowland and mountain forests, showing some preference for open growth broad-leaved rather than coniferous forests, particularly in belts of low birch, poplar, and willow along rivers. They winter in lowland broadleaf and coniferous forests.

Diet:

They eat insects and other invertebrates which they pick or snatch from twigs and leaves of trees and bushes, or sometimes take in flight.

Breeding:

The yellow-browed warbler breeds in June-July. They Nest on the ground, in or against a tussock, mound, windfall debris, or among tree roots. The nest is a domed structure with a side entrance, made of dry grasses, moss, rotten wood, plant fibres and rootlets, lined with finer material. There the female lays 2-7 eggs which she incubates alone for 11-14 days. The chicks fledge 12-13 days after hatching and each pair only raises 1 brood per season.

Conservation:

IUCN status - LC (Least concern)

Although the global population size has not been quantified, this species is common over its very large breeding range, and the European population, which represents less than 5% of their overall range, counts 5.000-35.000 breeding pairs. The population is suspected to be stable in the absence of evidence for any declines or substantial threats.