Overview
Arctic Warbler: Medium-sized, active warbler with stout bill, olive-green back, olive-brown sides, and white throat and belly. Dark eye-lines contrast with pale yellow eyebrows curving upward behind eyes. Wings have faint pale bar on tips of greater coverts. Tail is square. Pale yellow legs, feet.
Range and Habitat
Arctic Warbler: Occurs in Fennoscandia and northern Asia, and is also established in North America, where they breed in Alaska. They migrate to Southeast Asia for the winter, having the longest migration route of any Old World insectivorous bird. Preferred habitats include birch woods, willow thickets, mixed coniferous-deciduous open forests, and grassy tundra.
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.