Upcher's warbler (''Hippolais languida'') is an

Old World warbler Old World warblers are a large group of birds formerly grouped together in the bird family Sylviidae. The family held over 400 species in over 70 genera, and were the source of much taxonomic confusion. Two families were split out initially, the ci ...

in the

tree warbler Tree warblers are medium-sized warblers in the marsh- and tree-warbler family Acrocephalidae. They are found in Europe, Africa and western Asia. Until recently, they were all classified in the single genus ''Hippolais''. These warblers are ass ...

genus ''Hippolais''. It breeds in an area from

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

south and east to

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. It is migratory, wintering in 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 ...

, from

Eritrea Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia ...

and

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constitut ...

south to

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

. This small

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 a species found in semi-desert habitats, frequenting bushy scrub and thickets of

tamarisk The genus ''Tamarix'' (tamarisk, salt cedar, taray) is composed of about 50–60 species of flowering plants in the family Tamaricaceae, native to drier areas of Eurasia and Africa. The generic name originated in Latin and may refer to the Ta ...

. Four or five eggs are laid in a nest in bushes and low trees. This is a medium-sized warbler, similar in size to the

icterine warbler The icterine warbler (''Hippolais icterina'') is an Old World warbler in the tree warbler genus ''Hippolais''. It breeds in mainland Europe except the southwest, where it is replaced by its western counterpart, the melodious warbler. It is m ...

, with a slightly longer bill and shorter wings and a longer tail. Its frequent tail movement is reminiscent of a '' Sylvia'' warbler or a chat. Its rather grey plumage is similar to the olivaceous warbler, but tail movements are diagnostic. It feeds on invertebrates. Its song is similar to that of other ''Hippolais'' warblers, but distinctive and unmistakable, and entirely different from that of the olivaceous warbler. Ehrenberg's original description of this bird was 'rather vague' and it was redescribed by

Henry Baker Tristram Henry Baker Tristram FRS (11 May 1822 – 8 March 1906) was an English clergyman, Bible scholar, traveller and ornithologist. As a parson-naturalist he was an early supporter of Darwinism, attempting to reconcile evolution and creation. Biogra ...

in 1864, naming it ''Hippolais upcheri'' after his friend Henry Morris Upcher. This is the origin of the bird's common name.

References

Upcher's warbler Birds of Central Asia Birds of Western Asia Birds of East Africa Upcher's warbler Taxa named by Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg Taxa named by Wilhelm Hemprich {{Acrocephalidae-stub