Page 315 - Complete Birds of Britain and Europe (DK - RSPB)

WARBLERS AND ALLIES/FLYCATCHERS
Family Sylviidae
WARBLERS AND ALLIES

OSTLY SMALLER THAN the thrushes and short bills, often peaked heads, and slim,
M chats, most warblers fall into several neat sometimes cocked tails; some have brightly
groups, best recognized by their generic names. coloured eye-rings. Their calls are short and hard
Locustella warblers have grasshopper- or cricket- (“tak”) but their songs are often beautifully rich.
like songs; they are hard to see and identify, and Phylloscopus warblers are mostly
have narrow heads, wings with curved outer green and yellowish;
edges, and long undertail coverts beneath a they are delicate,
rounded tail. slipping easily through
Acrocephalus warblers are mostly reedbed birds, foliage, have sweet
with spiky bills, flattish heads, rather long tails, “hooeet” calls, and
and strong feet that give a grip on upright distinctive songs.
stems.Their songs are rich and hurried, often
with repetitive patterns; calls are churring.
Hippolais warblers are green or pale brown,with
spike-like bills. Wing length is a vital clue to
their identity. They have short undertail coverts
and square tails, and hurried, rambling songs.
Sylvia warblers are small, lively, perky birds with

PERSISTENT
SINGERS
Male warblers sing a
lot, especially if they
are unable to find a
DIMORPHISM mate, when they sing
A few species, such as the Blackcap (male pictured), have for weeks on end.
different male and female plumages.

Family Muscicapidae

FLYCATCHERS

HERE ARE TWO GROUPS OF flycatchers:one includes
Tbasically brown ones (Spotted, Red-breasted), the
BRIGHT other, birds in which the summer male is black and
CHARACTER
Although dull in white (the “pied” group). They are short-billed, upright,
plumage, the long-winged, short-tailed birds. Male and female Spotted
Spotted Flycatcher’s Flycatchers are alike, but in the others summer males are
bright eyes and very different from female and winter plumages.
alertness make it a
distinctive bird. All are migrants, the Spotted Flycatcher being one
of the last to arrive in spring. They mainly catch flies
on the wing, although the pied group also drop to the
ground; Spotted Flycatchers characteristically fly out
and return to the same perch.

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