Rüppell's Warbler
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| Sylvia rueppelli Temminck, 1823, Crete |
The Rüppell's Warbler Sylvia rueppelli, is a typical warbler of the genus Sylvia. It breeds in Greece, Turkey and neighbouring islands. It is migratory, wintering in north east Africa. This is a rare vagrant to western Europe. The name is occasionally cited as "Rueppell's Warbler".
These are small typical warblers, similar in size but slimmer than the Sardinian Warbler. The adults have a plain grey back and paler grey underparts. The bill is fine and pointed and the legs brown. The male has a black head and, usually, a black throat, separated by a white malar streak ("moustache"). The eye is red. Females have a pale throat, and the head is grey rather than black. Their grey back has a brownish tinge. The song is a slower, deeper rattle than that of Sardinian Warbler.
Together with the Cyprus Warbler it forms a superspecies with dark throats, white malar streaks and light remiges fringes. This in turn is related to the species of Mediterranean and Middle East Sylvia warblers that have a naked eye-ring, namely the Subalpine Warbler, Sardinian Warbler and Ménétries's Warbler. Both groups have a white malar area, but this may not form a clear streak in the latter group; above the white, the heads of males are uniformly dark.(Helbig 2001, Jønsson & Fjeldså 2006)
These small passerine birds are found in thick thorny shrubs. Four to six eggs are laid in a nest in a bush. Like most warblers, this species is insectivorous.
It is named after the German collector Eduard Rüppell.
[edit] References
- BirdLife International (2004). Sylvia rueppelli. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 12 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
- Helbig, A. J. (2001): Phylogeny and biogeography of the genus Sylvia. In: Shirihai, Hadoram: Sylvia warblers: 24-25[verification needed]. Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J.. ISBN 0691088330
- Jønsson, Knud A. & Fjeldså, Jon (2006): A phylogenetic supertree of oscine passerine birds (Aves: Passeri). Zool. Scripta 35(2): 149–186. doi:
