Rote Leaf Warbler
Phylloscopus rotiensis
A small, very long-billed warbler with a conspicuous yellow-orange underside to bill. Note broad yellow eyebrow, dark crown with pale central stripe, olive upperparts, single faint wingbar, and extensive yellow underparts. Singles and pairs inhabit canopy in forest patches and woodlands at all altitudes. Unusually for leaf warblers, regularly probes bark for insects. Restricted to Rote, where it is the only regular leaf warbler. Exceptionally long bill, central crown stripe, weak single wingbar, and yellow-flushed underside separate it from Arctic and Kamchatka Leaf Warblers. Calls similar to those of other regional leaf warblers. Song is a high-pitched, rising and falling warble, “chit-swee-swer-swoo.” Also gives a disyllabic “tchewit” call.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Phylloscopus rotiensis
- Authority
- Ng, NSR, Prawiradilaga, Ng, EYX, Suparno, Ashari, Trainor, Verbelen & Rheindt, 2018
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Phylloscopidae
- Genus
- Phylloscopus
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Bird Calls
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