The Rüppell’s Warbler (Sylvia rueppelli) is a typical warbler of the genus Sylvia. The species is named after the German zoologist and explorer Eduard Rüppell (1794-1884).
Distribution / Range
It breeds in Greece, Turkey and neighbouring islands. It is migratory, wintering in north east Africa. This is a rare vagrant to western Europe. The name is occasionally cited as “Rueppell’s Warbler”.
Description
It is a typical “sylvia” warbler, similar in size but slimmer than Sardinian Warbler. The adults have a plain grey back and paler grey underparts.
The bill is fine and pointed, with brown legs and red eyes.
The striking male has a black head and, usually, a black throat, separated by a white malar streak (“moustache”).
Females have a pale throat, and the head is grey rather than black. Their grey back has a brownish tinge.
The song is a slower, deeper rattle than that of Sardinian Warbler.
Together with the Cyprus Warbler it forms a superspecies with dark throats, white malar streaks (“moustaches”), and light remiges fringes.
This in turn is related to the species of Mediterranean and Middle East Sylvia warblers that have a naked eye-ring, namely the Subalpine Warbler, Sardinian Warbler and Menetries’s Warbler.
Both groups have a white malar area, but this may not form a clear streak in the latter group; above the white, the heads of males are uniformly dark.(Helbig 2001, Jønsson and Fjeldså 2006)
Behavior
These small insectivorous passerine birds are found in thick thorny shrubs where they build their nests and lay four to six eggs.
