Leaf warblers · Perching birds
Hume’s Leaf Warbler
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Phylloscopus humei
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Voice
Call
Call
How to recognize it
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Smaller than a sparrow
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Gray-green upperparts, pale underparts
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Ochre pale eyebrow; short, faint wing bar
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Constantly moving; disyllabic call
About the species
Its greenish upperparts and off-white underside are muted rather than bright. A pale eyebrow reaches well forward above the eye, while a dark stripe marks the crown; the folded wing has one clear light bar and only a faint trace of a second. Where it overlaps with the Yellow-browed Warbler, its duller coloring is a useful distinction.
It keeps moving through the tree canopy and, despite not being shy, can be hard to spot among the foliage. Its song is a high, buzzing “zrrrr,” while its call falls into two syllables.
It breeds in mountain woodlands and scrub across inner Asia, then crosses the Himalayas to winter mainly in India and nearby regions. Insects make up its food, and on migration it can appear in gardens, groves, reedbeds, or tall grass as well as woodland.
Where to find
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During autumn migration, look for Hume’s Leaf Warbler in gardens and shelterbelts: it moves constantly through the foliage as it searches for insects.
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In breeding mountain spruce woods and open larch forests, listen for its high, buzzy song, especially near the forest edge.
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On mountain meadows with creeping juniper or in mountain-tundra scrub, watch for movement among the low shrubs as it searches for insects.
