Greenish Warbler
Phylloscopus trochiloides
暗绿柳莺
Introduction
A leaf warbler in the family Phylloscopidae with a breeding range spanning northeastern Europe and temperate to subtropical continental Asia. This species is strongly migratory, wintering in India. It appears regularly as a spring or early autumn vagrant in Western Europe and is annually recorded in Great Britain. In Central Europe, large numbers of vagrant birds occur in some years, with a handful of pairs remaining to breed in Germany annually. It represents a ring species with populations diverging east and west of the Tibetan Plateau before meeting again on the northern side.
Description
A typical leaf warbler in appearance, measuring approximately 11-12 cm in length. The upperparts are grayish-green while the underparts are off-white. Southern and western populations possess a single wing bar, a distinguishing feature from most similar species. The bill is relatively thin without a dark tip to the lower mandible. Analysis of wintering birds indicates that more northerly populations are smaller, contrary to Bergmann's rule.
Identification
The single wing bar present in southern and western populations helps distinguish this species from most similar warblers, though it shares this feature with the Arctic warbler (P. borealis). It is slightly smaller than the Arctic warbler and has a thinner bill. Unlike the Arctic warbler, it lacks the dark tip to the lower mandible.
Distribution & Habitat
Breeds across northeastern Europe and through temperate to subtropical continental Asia. Winters primarily in India. Regular vagrant to Western Europe and Great Britain during spring and early autumn migration. Central European countries experience influxes of vagrant birds in certain years, with small numbers remaining to breed in Germany annually. Non-breeding birds in warmer parts of the range may move to montane habitat in summer, reaching approximately 3,800 meters ASL in Himalayan regions.
Behavior & Ecology
Song consists of a high, jerky trill, with some populations featuring sequences of down-slurred and more rarely up-slurred notes. Breeds in lowland deciduous or mixed forest, with the nest positioned on the ground in low shrubbery. Strictly insectivorous like other leaf warblers. Himalayan populations migrate to adjacent subtropical lowlands in winter.
Conservation
Assessed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (2024, e.T103845399A264529708). No significant population concerns noted in recent assessments.
Culture
The species' English name has been used to argue in favor of capitalizing species names in scientific literature, as the capitalized 'Greenish Warbler' unambiguously refers to Phylloscopus trochiloides, whereas the decapitalized version could describe multiple greenish warbler species across different families.
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0
Taxonomy
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Phylloscopidae
- Genus
- Phylloscopus
- eBird Code
- grewar3
Subspecies (4)
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Phylloscopus trochiloides ludlowi
breeds western Himalayas (Gilgit and Kashmir to Kumaon); winters to southern India
-
Phylloscopus trochiloides obscuratus
breeds northwestern China to Tibet; winters to Myanmar, Thailand, and Indochina
-
Phylloscopus trochiloides trochiloides
breeds Himalayas to Tibet and western China; winters northern India to Indochina
-
Phylloscopus trochiloides viridanus
breeds northeastern Europe to central Asia and Afghanistan; winters to southern India
Data Sources
Species description from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Bird images and sounds sourced from GBIF, contributed by citizen scientists worldwide under Creative Commons licenses.
Taxonomy data from AviList 2025.