Yellow-browed Warbler
Introduction
The Yellow-browed Warbler is a gem of a bird. It is an abundant breeding songbird of the Siberian taiga forests, mostly wintering in south-east Asia.
It has long been known as a scarce autumn visitor to the UK, but numbers have increased sharply in recent years. The majority of records are detected (most easily by call) at well-watched coastal sites on the east coast, but they can appear anywhere.
Numbers peak in October, but small numbers are increasingly found into the winter and even occasionally in spring. This attractive bird is a firm favourite with UK birders.
Key Stats
Identification
Songs and Calls
Call:
Status and Trends
Conservation Status
Population Size
Population Change
Yellow-browed Warbler is predominantly an autumn migrant to the UK [Woodward et al. 2020]. There have been very occasional records of males singing in early spring, but these are thought to be individuals that have overwintered establishing a territory before migrating back to their regular breeding grounds [Eaton & the Rare Breeding Birds Panel 2023]. The number of Yellow-browed Warblers recorded along the western European flyway has increased considerably in the past 30 years, leading to an increase in the number of winter records and overwintering individuals, particularly in the UK [Dufour et al. 2022].
Distribution
Yellow-browed Warblers are scarce but increasing autumn migrants to Britain & Ireland. During 2007–11 most records were along the North Sea coast and in southwest England, with just five coastal squares occupied in Ireland. More than three-quarters of squares were occupied only in November, presumably by late migrants, whilst potentially overwintering birds were concentrated into southwest Britain.
Occupied 10-km squares in UK
or view it on Bird Atlas Mapstore.
or view it on Bird Atlas Mapstore.
European Distribution Map
Distribution Change
Change in occupied 10-km squares in the UK
or view it on Bird Atlas Mapstore.
Seasonality
Yellow-browed Warbler has become a regular autumn passage migrant, typically encountered from September onwards in suitable areas; several individuals have wintered.
Weekly pattern of occurrence
The graph shows when the species is present in the UK, with taller bars indicating a higher likelihood of encountering the species in appropriate regions and habitats.
Movement
Britain & Ireland movement
Foreign locations of birds ringed or recovered in Britain & Ireland
Dots show the foreign destinations of birds ringed in Britain & Ireland, and the origins of birds ringed overseas that were subsequently recaptured, resighted or found dead in Britain & Ireland. Dot colours indicate the time of year that the species was present at the location.
- Winter (Nov-Feb)
- Spring (Mar-Apr)
- Summer (May-Jul)
- Autumn (Aug-Oct)
Biology
Productivity and Nesting
Nesting timing
Egg measurements
Clutch Size
Survival and Longevity
Survival is shown as the proportion of birds surviving from one year to the next and is derived from bird ringing data. It can also be used to estimate how long birds typically live.
View number ringed each year in the Online Ringing Report.
Biometrics
Wing length and body weights are from live birds (source).
Wing length
Body weight
Ring Size
Classification, names and codes
Classification and Codes
- Order: Passeriformes
- Family: Phylloscopidae
- Scientific name: Phylloscopus inornatus
- Authority: Blyth, 1842
- BTO 2-letter code: YB
- BTO 5-letter code: YEBWA
- Euring code number: 13000
Alternate species names
- Catalan: mosquiter de doble ratlla
- Czech: budnícek pruhohlavý
- Danish: Hvidbrynet Løvsanger
- Dutch: Bladkoning
- Estonian: vööt-lehelind
- Finnish: taigauunilintu
- French: Pouillot à grands sourcils
- Gaelic: Ceileiriche-buidhe
- German: Gelbbrauen-Laubsänger
- Hungarian: vándorfüzike
- Icelandic: Hnoðrasöngvari
- Irish: Ceolaire Buímhalach
- Italian: Luì forestiero
- Latvian: dzeltensvitru kaukitis
- Lithuanian: geltonbruve pecialinda
- Norwegian: Gulbrynsanger
- Polish: swistunka zóltawa
- Portuguese: felosa-listada
- Slovak: kolibiarik žltkastotemenný
- Slovenian: mušja listnica
- Spanish: Mosquitero bilistado
- Swedish: tajgasångare
- Welsh: Telor Aelfelyn
Research
Publications (1)
The Yellow-browed Warbler (Phylloscopus inornatus) as a model to understand the mechanisms of vagrancy and its potential significance for the evolution of new migratory routes
Author: Dufour, P., Åkesson, S., Hellström, M., Hewson, C., Lagerveld, S., Mitchell, L., Chernetsov, N., Schmaljohann, H. & Crochet, P-A.
Published: 2022
Why and how new migration routes emerge remain fundamental questions in ecology, particularly when viewed in the context of the current climate and biodiversity crises. We have already seen changes to migratory behaviour in some species, both in terms of the timing of movements and routes used, but identifying such changes at their earliest stage can be especially challenging, as this paper reveals.
15.12.22
Papers
