Sardinian Warbler - BirdForum Opus

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Sylvia melanocephala

Photo by squidfish
Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife

Identification

Male

• Grey back
• White underparts
• Black head
• White throat
• Red eyes
  

Female

• Brown upperparts
• Buff underparts
• Grey head

Distribution

Europe and Asia, Africa, Middle East
Eastern Europe: Scandinavia, Norway, Finland, The Netherlands, France, Corsica, Portugal, Spain, Ibiza, Mallorca, Canary Islands, Gran Canaria, Gomera, Tenerife, Extremadura, Gibraltar, Monaco, Switzerland, Italy, Sardinia, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Yugoslavia, Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, Macedonia, Greece, Crete, Lesvos, Malta, Bulgaria, Romania

Female
Photo by russkie
Sani, Greece, February 2006

Northern Africa: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt
Western Africa Mauritania, Senegambia, Senegal, Niger, Chad
Eastern Africa: Sudan, Ethiopia
Middle East: Turkey, Cyprus, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, Iraq

Vagrants recorded in the British Isles.

Taxonomy

Subspecies^[1]

• S. m. melanocephala:

• Southern Europe, Canary Islands and Mediterranean islands, western Turkey and North Africa

• S. m. norrisae:

• Formerly Egypt (Faiyum region). Extinct

• S. m. momus:

• Syria, Israel, Jordan and Sinai Peninsula; winters to north-eastern Africa

Four additional subspecies,leucogastra, carmichaellowi, pasiphae and valverdei are not accepted by all authorities^[1].

Habitat

Coastal scrub, salt marshes, heathland, arid scrubland, open woodland with gorse; riverside shrubs, olive, almond and orchid plantations. Parks and gardens.

Behaviour

Breeding

It builds its nest in low shrub or brambles, laying 3-6 eggs.

Diet

The diet includes insects, but it will also take nectar, berries and other soft fruit.

Vocalisation

<flashmp3>Sylvia melanocephala (song).mp3</flashmp3>
Listen in an external program

References

1. Clements, JF. 2009. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2009. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
2. Avibase
3. Wikipedia
4. BF Member observations

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Sardinian Warbler. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 2 May 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Sardinian_Warbler

External Links

Search for photos of Sardinian Warbler in the gallery