Overview

Dusky Warbler: Small, dark warbler with gray-brown upperparts, gray-streaked underparts, distinct white eyebrow, and faint eye-ring. The tail is slightly round-tipped. Brown legs and feet. Forages on ground, in trees. Constantly flicks wings. Weak fluttering direct flight with shallow wing beats.

Dusky Warbler: Breeds in Northern Asia, specifically in the Upper Ob and Altai in Siberia to Anadyr region and Sakhalin Island, to eastern Himalayas and China. Strongly migratory and winters in Northern India, Burma and the foothills of Nepal. Preferred habitats include mountain thickets and forests, bogs and wet meadows.

Voice Text

"tschick"

• The call of the Dusky Warbler is often the first clue that this typically skulking species is present, away from the breeding grounds.
• A group of warblers has many collective nouns, including a "bouquet", "confusion", "fall", and "wrench" of warblers.

• Arctic Warbler

Leaf Warblers (Phylloscopidae)

ORDER

The one hundred eighteen families in the taxonomic order PASSERIFORMES (pronounced pas-ser-i-FOR-meez) include a variety of small perching birds such as the kinglets as well as large birds such as the crows and jays.

FAMILY TAXONOMY

In the Phylloscopidae (pronounced fil-uh-SKOH-puhs-uh-dee) family, there are sixty-nine species that occur throughout the Old World.

NORTH AMERICA

In North America, six species of the Phylloscopidae family have occurred. One of these species, the Arctic Warbler, breeds in Alaska and is the only Leaf Warbler that breeds in the New World.

KNOWN FOR

Leaf Warblers are active and always in motion. They flick their wings constantly as they move through the trees searching for insects.

PHYSICAL

Members of the Phylloscopidae are small birds with fairly long legs, and strong feet that suit their arboreal nature. They have thin, short bills.

COLORATION

The Phylloscopidae are mostly dull colored birds that have brown to green upperparts and off-white to yellowish underparts.

GEOGRAPHIC HABITAT

The Phylloscopidae occur in forests and scrub across Eurasia, Africa, India, and Asia.

MIGRATION

Many species are long distance migrants.

HABITS

Members of the Phylloscopidae forage for invertebrates by gleaning them from the vegetation of trees and bushes. They often flick their wings as they forage.

CONSERVATION

In some areas, Leaf Warblers are listed as threatened because of destruction or loss of its habitat.

INTERESTING FACTS

Leaf Warblers were included in the Old World Warbler family until 2006.

Author

Artist

Michael Oberhofer