Bonelli’s Warbler

Bonelli’s Warbler is separated into two subspecies. The Western (Phylloscopus bonelli), breeds in southwest Europe and north Africa. The Eastern (Phylloscopus orientalis), breeds in southeast Europe and Asia Minor. These small passerine birds are found in forest and woodland. Their breeding ranges do not overlap. Both species are migratory and winter in sub-Saharan Africa.

These are small warblers. The adults of both species have a plain gray-green back, green-toned rump and wings and whitish underparts. The bill is small and pointed and the legs brown. The sexes are identical, as with most warblers. The Western Bonelli’s Warbler has a browner tinge to the upperparts than Eastern Bonelli’s Warbler; the latter sometimes has a greenish tinge instead.

The song of both species is a fast monotone trill, with only slight differences between the two, and also some similarity to Wood Warbler. The call of the Western Bonelli’s Warbler is a disyllabic hu-it, that of the Eastern a completely different hard chup, reminiscent of a Crossbill or a House Sparrow.

4-6 eggs are laid in a nest on the ground. Like most warblers, Bonelli’s is insectivorous. This bird is named after the Italian ornithologist Franco Andrea Bonelli.