Sylviid warblers · Perching birds
Barred Warbler
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Sylvia nisoria
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Voice
Alarm
Song
Song
How to recognize it
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Length 15.5–17 cm
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Adult males dark grey above, with heavy barring on the white underside; females paler, with lighter barring
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Young: grey-brown above, pale buff below, with very little barring
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Song a chattering run of clear notes, harsher and higher-pitched than the Garden Warbler
About the species
Grey above and whitish underneath, the adult male Barred Warbler has dense dark bars across his chest and belly. His white-tipped wing coverts and tail feathers break up the grey. Females are paler with lighter barring, while adults have yellow eyes.
It threads quickly through dense shrubs and branches, but rarely comes to the ground, where its movement is awkward. Its song is a higher, harsher chatter of clear notes, and it may abandon its nest if people discover it.
Across central and eastern Europe and western and central Asia, it breeds in open country with bushes, nesting low in shrubs. It feeds mainly on insects, along with spiders and molluscs, and turns to berries and other soft fruit in late summer and autumn. It migrates to tropical eastern Africa for winter.
Where to find
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Beyond the built-up edge, in open country with bushes, listen for a chattering song.
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By dense thickets, watch for quick, agile movement through the branches.
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In late summer and autumn, look for the barred warbler feeding on berries and other soft fruit in open scrub.
