The barred warbler (''Curruca nisoria'') is a

typical warbler The typical warblers are small birds belonging to the genus ''Sylvia'' in the "Old World warbler" (or sylviid warbler) family Sylviidae.Del Hoyo, J.; Elliot, A., & Christie, D. (editors). (2006). ''Handbook of the Birds of the World''. Volume 11 ...

which breeds across temperate regions of central and eastern

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

and western and central

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

. This

passerine A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped'), which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines are distinguished from other orders of birds by th ...

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

is strongly migratory, and winters in tropical eastern

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

.Del Hoyo, J., Elliot, A., & Christie, D. (editors). (2006). '' Handbook of the Birds of the World''. Volume 11: Old World Flycatchers to Old World Warblers. Lynx Edicions. . It is the largest ''Curruca'' warbler, 15.5–17 cm in length and weighing 22–36 g, mainly grey above and whitish below. Adult males are dark grey above with white tips on the wing coverts and tail feathers, and heavily barred below. The female is similar but slightly paler and has only light barring. Young birds are buffy grey-brown above, pale buff below, and have very little barring, with few obvious distinctive features; they can easily be confused with

garden warbler The garden warbler (''Sylvia borin'') is a common and widespread small bird that breeds in most of Europe and in the Palearctic to western Siberia. It is a plain, long-winged and long-tailed typical warbler with brown upperparts and dull whit ...

s, differing in the slight barring on the tail coverts and the pale fringes on the wing feathers, and their slightly larger size. The eye has a yellow iris in adults, dark in immatures; the bill is blackish with a paler base, and the legs stout, grey-brown.Svensson, L., Mullarney, K. & Zetterström, D. (2009). ''Collins Bird Guide'', second edition. HarperCollins, London .

Taxonomy

Within the genus ''Curruca'' it is highly distinctive; the barred underside is shared only with the

Cyprus warbler The Cyprus warbler (''Curruca melanothorax'') is a typical warbler which breeds only on Cyprus. This small passerine bird is a short-distance migrant, and winters in Israel, Jordan and Egypt. Like most ''Curruca'' species, it has distinct male ...

, which has black barring and an entirely different overall colour pattern. The barred warbler seems to represent an ancient lineage of ''Curruca'' warblers on its own and does not appear to have any particularly close relatives in the genus. Two subspecies are recognised. The nominate ''Curruca nisoria nisoria'' occurs over most of the species' range, while ''Curruca nisoria merzbacheri'' occurs at eastern end of the range in central Asia. The latter is marginally paler and less heavily barred than the nominate subspecies, but they are barely distinct and intergrade where the ranges meet. Some authors consider them synonymous.Williamson, K. (1976). ''Identification for Ringers: The Genus Sylvia''. British Trust for Ornithology. The specific ''nisoria'' is

Medieval Latin Medieval Latin was the form of Literary Latin used in Roman Catholic Western Europe during the Middle Ages. In this region it served as the primary written language, though local languages were also written to varying degrees. Latin functione ...

for the Eurasian sparrowhawk, which is also barred.

Ecology

The barred warbler is a bird of open country with bushes for nesting, with very similar habitat preferences to the red-backed shrike. The nest is built in low shrub or brambles, and three to seven eggs are laid. Like most warblers, it is mainly insectivorous, but also takes

berries A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit, although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples are strawberries, rasp ...

and other soft fruit extensively in late summer and autumn. Its song is a pleasant chattering like a garden warbler with many clear notes, but is harsher and less melodious, and slightly higher pitched, with some resemblance to the

common whitethroat The common whitethroat or greater whitethroat (''Curruca communis'') is a common and widespread typical warbler which breeds throughout Europe and across much of temperate western Asia. This small passerine bird is strongly migratory, and winte ...

's song.

Occurrence

The European population is estimated at around 460,000 pairs. It has declined in some areas, particularly at the western end of its breeding range in

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

(where it is now extinct as a breeding bird) and

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, due to

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

from agricultural intensification; conversely, some increase has occurred in

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

and southern

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

. Further east, numbers are currently stable. Population densities range between 1–20 pairs per 10 ha in Germany, up to 30 pairs per 10 ha recorded in

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

. Barred warblers are regular on autumn passage as far west as

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

(typically 100-200 records annually), where it occurs mainly on the east coast between late August and late October, and more rarely to

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

(around 10–20 records annually); spring passage records in Britain are very rare (1–3 per decade).Dymond, J. N., Fraser, P. A., & Gantlett, S. J. M. (1989). ''Rare Birds in Britain and Ireland''. T & A D Poyser . The vast majority of British and Irish records are of first-year birds, with adults occurring only exceptionally rarely.

Gallery

File:Barred Warbler (Sylvia nisoria) - geograph.org.uk - 1036172.jpg, Immature barred warbler on migration, England File:Sylvia nisoria MWNH 2267.JPG, Egg, Collection

Museum Wiesbaden, Germany The Museum Wiesbaden is a two-branch museum of art and natural history in the Hessian capital of Wiesbaden, Germany. It is one of the three Hessian State museums, in addition to the museums in Kassel and Darmstadt. History The foundation o ...

File:Cuculus canorus canorus MHNT.ZOO.2010.11.150.28.jpg, ''Cuculus canorus canorus'' (cuckoo) egg in a ''Sylvia nisoria'' clutch - MHNT

References

External link

{{Taxonbar, from=Q104867606, from2=Q215214 barred warbler Birds of Eurasia barred warbler barred warbler