Arctic warbler

Phylloscopus borealis

SUBFAMILY

Sylviinae

TAXONOMY

Phyllopneuste borealis Blasius, 1858.

OTHER COMMON NAMES

French: Pouillot boréal; German: Wanderlaubsänger; Spanish: Mosquitero Boreal.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

4.1–5.1 in (10.5–13 cm); 0.3–0.5 oz (8–15 g). Medium-sized warbler, olive-green above, yellowish-white below, with a yellow wash in some plumages. Thin, clean whitish eye line; long wings with two whitish wing bars.

DISTRIBUTION

Breeds in boreal and subalpine zones from Scandinavia throughout Asia to Japan and Western Alaska. Winters in Southeast Asia, Wallacea.

HABITAT

Coniferous, deciduous, and mixed forest in taiga zone. Winters in open woodlands, rainforest, forest edge, gardens, and mangroves.

BEHAVIOR

Arboreal and active, with quick flight and habit of wing- and tail-flicking. Usually solitary or in pairs or small family groups. Territorial; male often defends with song and wing-rattling displays.

FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET

Forages in foliage for insects and larvae, usually high, but occasionally close to the ground.

REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY

Monogamous, occasionally polygynous. Courtship involves song, wing-rattling and wing-flapping displays. Nest is built by the female; dome of dry grass and other plant materials with a side entrance on the ground in thick vegetation. Incubation of 5–7 eggs for 11–13 days by female; fledging takes 13–14 days, young fed by both parents, brooded by female; young independent after two weeks.

CONSERVATION STATUS

Not threatened.

SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS

None known.

Family Sylviidae 4¾″ (12 cm). A small, plain, Old World warbler. Dull greenish brown above, whitish below; light stripe over eye, a trace of a narrow whitish wing bar; pale legs. Sexes similar. Keep in mind Orange-crowned and Tennessee warblers.

Voice: Song, a repeated tchick followed by a short trill.

Range: Near tree limit, n. Eurasia, Alaska. Winters tropical Asia.

West: Breeds in w. Alaska from w. Brooks Range, Colville R., south to Katmai, Mt. McKinley, Denali.

Habitat: Willow scrub.

Arctic Warbler
Conservation status
Least Concern
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Passeriformes Family: Phylloscopidae Genus: Phylloscopus Species: P. borealis
Binomial name
Phylloscopus borealis (Blasius,H, 1858)

The Arctic Warbler, Phylloscopus borealis, is a widespread leaf warbler in birch or mixed birch forest near water throughout its breeding range in Fennoscandia and northern Asia. It has established a foothold in North America, breeding in Alaska.

The nest is on the ground in a low shrub. Like most Old World warblers, this small passerine is insectivorous.

This warbler is strongly migratory; the entire population winters in southeast Asia. It therefore has one of the longest migrations of any Old World insectivorous bird.

This is a typical leaf warbler in appearance, greyish-green above and off-white below. Its single wing bar distinguishes it from most similar species except the Greenish Warbler, Phylloscopus trochiloides. It is larger than that species and has a heavier, dagger-like bill, with a dark tip to the lower mandible. Its song is a fast trill.

This species occurs as an autumn vagrant in western Europe and is annual in Great Britain.

Photo Image links

• Cyberbirding: Arctic Warbler

References

• BirdLife International (2004). Phylloscopus borealis. 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

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