Velvet warbler

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Velvet warbler
Male of the Velvet Warbler

Male of the Velvet Warbler

Systematics
Order : Passerines (Passeriformes)
Subordination : Songbirds (passeri)
Superfamily : Sylvioidea
Family : Warblers (Sylviidae)
Genre : Warblers ( Sylvia )
Type : Velvet warbler
Scientific name
Sylvia melanocephala
( Gmelin , 1789)

The velvet warbler ( Sylvia melanocephala ) is a songbird belonging to the genus of warblers ( Sylvia ). It occurs in the Mediterranean area, is not shy and often shows up.

description

With a length of 13 to 14 centimeters, the velvet warbler is about the same size as the rattle warbler . The throat and under tail-coverts are white, the tail dark.

Males have a black head and dark gray back with a blurred transition in the neck. The chest and stomach are lighter gray. The red eye ring is clearly pronounced. The outer tail feathers are white in the tips.

Females have gray heads, brown backs, and gray-brown flanks. The belly is lighter brown. The eye ring is duller red than that of the male.

A female of the velvet warbler ( Sylvia melanocephala )

voice

The loud lure and excitement call is a tough "tseck".

The more noticeable warning call consists of a series of stuttering-rattling, monosyllabic or two-syllable sounds: "trr-trr-trr-trr-trr" or "ti-TRRÜ ti-TRRÜ ti-TRRÜ ti-TRRü", also with a different first tone " tüRETT trett-trett-trett-trett ”.

The singing consists of creaking and crunching sounds, very short whistling tones and inserted, rattling calls in two to five second long verses at a fast tempo.

Habitat and Distribution

The velvet warbler lives in areas with dense undergrowth and high bushes, in open, low-growing forests with undergrowth, also in human proximity in gardens and woody plants.

It is distributed around the Mediterranean Sea and occurs in large parts of Spain and Italy , with the exception of the north, and still in Morocco . Because of the mild climate, this species does not have to migrate south in winter, but some individuals migrate to North Africa .

Reproduction

Sylvia melanocephala

In April or May the velvet warbler builds a small bowl-shaped nest very low in dense bushes. The three to five eggs are laid one after the other on different days and often look very different. The incubation period is 13 to 14 days, with the parents alternating between breeding and feeding. The young leave the nest on the tenth or eleventh day to hide in the leaves. The velvet warbler breeds once or twice in a season.

food

The diet consists mainly of insects , but also of berries .

literature

Web links

Commons : Velvet Warbler ( Sylvia melanocephala )  - Collection of images, videos, and audio files