Booted Warbler
Iduna caligata
Small, recalling a beige chiffchaff or other Phylloscopus warbler. Rather nondescript: gray brown above, paler below, with a short, dark-tipped bill and conspicuous pale eyebrow. Pot-bellied with short wings and a square-tipped tail. Can be extremely difficult to identify; compare carefully with small Acrocephalus warblers and other Iduna warblers, especially Sykes’s Warbler. Found in low bushes in steppes and meadows; also bushy areas in migration and in winter. Usually forages low down, and occasionally on the ground. Song starts out with a few dry chitters, then launches into a rapidfire burst of high-pitched chattering that almost stumbles over itself. Also gives dry “tchak” and rattle calls.
Identification
The booted warbler (Iduna caligata) is a species of passerine bird belonging to the family Acrocephalidae, the reed and tree warblers. This species breeds in Eastern Europe and western Asia, wintering in south Asia. it is a regular vagrant to Western Europe.
Taxonomy
Genus: Iduna; Family: Acrocephalidae; Order: Passeriformes.
- Scientific name
- Iduna caligata
- Authority
- (Lichtenstein, MHC, 1823)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Acrocephalidae
- Genus
- Iduna
Range and habitat
Breeding range: PAL : w, c Russia s through Kazakhstan to Iran, Afghanistan and w China. Non-breeding range: se India.
- Breeding range
- PAL : w, c Russia s through Kazakhstan to Iran, Afghanistan and w China
- Non-breeding range
- se India
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Behavior
Migration pattern: Complete migrants.
Conservation
Population trend: rising.
- Population trend
- rising
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Blackstart
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A small wheatear. Overall lead-gray with a prominent black tail which it fans continuously; often hops on the ground. Lives in rocky deserts and semi-arid zones; often found in desert wadis near trees and bushes and sometimes around human habitation. Can be very tame and bold. Its song is a beautiful, melancholic series of flutey syllables.
Black Guillemot
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Small seabird of coastal areas of the North Atlantic and Alaska. Breeding plumage is entirely black with bold white patch on wings and bright red legs. Changes dramatically in winter to whitish overall with some dusky markings on body and black wingtips. Often found in shallower coastal waters including from shore. Dives to hunt for fish and invertebrates. Nests in crevice or burrow in a cliff or around large rocks.
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