Upcher's warbler

Last updated

Upcher's warbler
Upcher's Warbler (Hippolais languida) (8079442053).jpg
In Uzbekistan
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Acrocephalidae
Genus: Hippolais
Species:
H. languida
Binomial name
Hippolais languida
Hippolais languida distribution map.png
Distribution of Upcher's Warbler
  Breeding
  Non-breeding
Hippolais languida - MHNT Hippolais languida MHNT.ZOO.2010.11.201.13.jpg
Hippolais languida - MHNT

Upcher's warbler (Hippolais languida) is an Old World warbler in the tree warbler genus Hippolais. It breeds in an area from Turkey south and east to Pakistan. It is migratory, wintering in eastern Africa, from Eritrea and Somalia south to Tanzania.

This small passerine bird is a species found in semi-desert habitats, frequenting bushy scrub and thickets of tamarisk. Four or five eggs are laid in a nest in bushes and low trees.

This is a medium-sized warbler, similar in size to the icterine warbler, with a slightly longer bill and shorter wings and a longer tail. Its frequent tail movement is reminiscent of a Sylvia warbler or a chat. Its rather grey plumage is similar to the olivaceous warbler, but tail movements are diagnostic.

It feeds on invertebrates. Its song is similar to that of other Hippolais warblers, but distinctive and unmistakable, and entirely different from that of the olivaceous warbler. Ehrenberg's original description of this bird was 'rather vague' and it was redescribed by Henry Baker Tristram in 1864, naming it Hippolais upcheri after his friend Henry Morris Upcher. This is the origin of the bird's common name.

Related Research Articles

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Tree warblers are medium-sized warblers in the marsh- and tree-warbler family Acrocephalidae. They are found in Europe, Africa and western Asia. Until recently, they were all classified in the single genus Hippolais.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olive-tree warbler</span> Species of bird

The olive-tree warbler is an Old World warbler in the tree warbler genus Hippolais. It breeds in southeast Europe and the Near East. It is migratory, wintering in eastern and southern Africa, from Kenya south to South Africa.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Acrocephalidae</span> Family of birds

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References

  1. BirdLife International (2016). "Hippolais languida". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T22714904A87610887. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22714904A87610887.en . Retrieved 13 November 2021.