Western Subalpine Warbler
Curruca iberiae
A small, slim warbler with a long tail. Breeding males are distinctive, with gray upperparts contrasting with a puffy rufous throat and breast, and a bold white moustache mark. Female and non-breeding males resemble a washed-out version of the breeding male, with much less rufous below. Typically found in scrubby, dense bushy habitats, but also in more open woodland and savanna. Sings from the tops of bushes, giving a rattling and loud sequence of notes. The call is a dry "tek" note, which is also incorporated into the song. Very similar to Moltoni’s Warbler, and best separated by call (single notes rather than dry rattles); breeding male is also richer rufous below. Also very similar to Eastern Subalpine Warbler, but call is subtly different: Western’s is slightly harsher, with only one syllable. Breeding males are separated visually from Eastern by having more rufous on the belly, a paler face, and a narrower white moustache.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Curruca iberiae
- Authority
- (Svensson, 2013)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Sylviidae
- Genus
- Curruca
Range and habitat
This species prefers tall and dense heterogeneous maquis with sparse tree cover in dry Mediterranean areas, particularly maquis of holm oak (Quercus ilex) and those dominated by strawberry tree (Arbutus) and tree-heath (Erica). It is also frequently found in young cork oak (Quercus suber) forest and in dense but treeless bushy areas. It uses bushy formations dominated by brambles (Rubus fruticosus) along sunny ravines and valley bottoms and prefers the intermediate stages of post-wildfire succession. Breeding occurs from late March to late June and the species is monogamous. The male constructs several ‘cock nests’ but both sexes build the breeding nest which is a deep, robust cup of grasses, thin roots and leaves and lined with finer grasses, rootlets and hair. It is placed in low scrub, bush or a small tree, c. 30–130 cm above the ground. Clutches are three to five eggs. The diet is mostly small insects and their larvae but outside of the breeding season berries and fruits are also taken. The species is a long-distance migrant, wintering in sub-Saharan Africa (Aymí et al. 2015).
- Breeding range
- PAL : Iberia, s France, and extreme nw Italy. Also nw Africa from Morocco to Tunisia
- Non-breeding range
- nw, w AF
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Cinereous Harrier
Circus cinereus
Fairly common in open country of Patagonia, often near lakes and marshes; uncommon and local northward. Male silvery gray overall with fine rusty barring below. Female and immature are grayish brown above; underparts barred on female, streaked on immature. All plumage have white rump band. Usually seen in flight, hunting low over open country with wings held in a shallow V, tilting side to side like a Turkey Vulture. Perches on ground and fence posts, not in trees or up high.
Gray Laughingthrush
Garrulax maesi
While this is a predominantly gray laughingthrush, the black mask, brownish throat, and white patch behind the ear are all more eye-catching. Overall coloration is similar to that of Black-throated Laughingthrush but note pale eyebrow connected to small white ear patch, and that the black mask does not extend down to the upper breast. Highly social; found in medium-sized and large flocks, which give cacophonous laughing calls as they forage in the undergrowth of lowland and foothill broadleaved forests.
White-browed Fantail
Rhipidura aureola
Fantail with a broad white eyebrow, dark upperparts, and white underparts. Crown and ear-coverts black, contrasting with white eyebrows. Throat mottled black-and-white. Pair of wingbars formed by well-separated white teardrop-shaped spots. Female slightly paler with a browner head. Immature like adult, but has rufous tips to dark feathers of upperparts. Frequent song is a 4- to 7-note melodious whistling phrase that ascends and then sometimes descends or is left incomplete. Contact call is a harsh “switch-wich.” Inhabits dry, open wooded habitats, ranging from dry deciduous forest to scrubby agricultural edges.
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