Eastern Olivaceous Warbler

Photo by john-henry
Lesvos, Greece, May 2004

Iduna pallida

Identification

Total length 12-15 cm (4½-6 in)
Bill rather long and forehead "flat". Tail relatively long and square-endeed (sides rounded). Primary extension ca. ½ tertial-length. Dull greyish-brown above, whitish below with a dull greyish-brown tinge to flanks and chest. Eye-ring, lores and poorly marked supercilium buffy-white. Upper mandible blackish, lower dull orange-yellow.

Similar species

Western Olivaceous Warbler is slightly larger, heavier-billed and browner.

Distribution

Breeds from the Balkans east through Greece, Crete, Cyprus, Turkey, Middle East, the Caucasus, to Iran and Afghanistan.

In North Africa at scattered localities in inland Algeria and Tunisia (possibly also south-eastern Morocco), northern Libya and in the Nile Delta Valley and at scattered oases in the west of Egypt.

Winters in Central and Eastern Africa, and south-western Arabian peninsula. Leave breeding grounds in July-September and return in April-May. Resident or only with local movements in Northern Somalia and parts of central, north-central and north-eastern Africa.

Vagrants have been recorded widely in the Western Palearctic in the British Isles, France, Germany, Sweden, Finland, Czechoslovakia, Italy, Malta, Canary Islands, Madeira and the Cape Verde Islands. Many of these will not have been subspecifically identified, but most in Europe are probably of the this species and not Western Olivaceous Warbler.

Several older British records have been rejected after a recent review but those that remain (c.10) have been referred to this species. Most British records have been in the south-west in September-October although there have been records from the Northern Isles and the east coast.

Taxonomy

It was formerly considered conspecific with Western Olivaceous Warbler and included in the genus Hippolais.

Subspecies

There are 4 subspecies^[2]

• I. p. elaeica breeds in southeast Europe to Iran and southwest Asia, winters to northeast Africa
• I. p. pallida breeds in Egypt, winters to southern Sudan and Ethiopia
• I. p. reiseri breeds in the Algerian Sahara, southern Morocco, Mauritania and Libya
• I. p. laeneni in Niger, Chad, Nigeria and to western Sudan

A Birdforum discussion includes statements that subspecies reiseri is vocally distinct from both Western and Eastern Olivaceous Warbler.^[4].

Habitat

Wide range of wooded and brushy habitats. Prefers areas with some tall trees and dense undergrowth, but avoids closed forest. Often near water. Fairly common in most of its range.

Behaviour

When foraging, the eastern races flick their closed tail up-and-down; a habit lacking in the western race.

Diet

Feeds on insects and spiders. To lesser extend also fruits. Generally feeds at high levels, but sometimes lower on migration.

Breeding

The nest is a cup made of plant-material placed fairly low in the fork of a branch. The 3-5 eggs are incubated by the female, but both parents feed the nestlings.

Vocalisation

<flashmp3>Hippolais pallida (song).mp3</flashmp3>
Listen in an external program

References

1. Dickinson, EC, ed. 2003. The Howard and Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World. 3rd ed., with updates to October 2008 (Corrigenda 8). Princeton: Princeton Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0691117010
2. Clements, JF. 2011. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to August 2011. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/downloadable-clements-checklist
3. Gill, F, M Wright and D Donsker. 2009. IOC World Bird Names (version 2.0). Available at http://www.worldbirdnames.org/.
4. Birdforum thread with links to pictures of different forms of Olivaceous Warbler

External Links

Search for photos of Eastern Olivaceous Warbler in the gallery