Icterine warbler / Gelbspötter (Hippolais icterina)

Wikipedia eBird Vogelwarte BirdLife ZH ornitho.ch bird-song.ch Xeno-Canto BirdID NABU

Wikipedia: Icterine warbler Source: OTHER 1200px-Hippolais_icterina2.jpg
Classification: Genus Hippolais; Subfamily Acrocephalinae; Family Old world warblers (Sylviidae)
endangered Looking for it in Kaltbrunnenriet - didn't find it in June 2022.
Etymology: Ihren Namen [Spötter] tragen sie, weil sie in ihren Gesang den anderer Vögel nachahmend aufnehmen („spotten“). [Link]
Yellow belly, brown back, very similar to melodious warbler. Sometimes has the punky ruffled head feathers.
Appearance and identification: Ebird: Distinctive features include longish, daggerlike bill, long primary projection in the wings, and square tail. Told from similar Melodious Warbler by usually conspicuous pale wing panel, longer wings, and marginally shorter bill. Usually difficult to see when singing except during song flights, when long wings are apparent. Found in tall forest with oaks and birch, mixed forest, gardens, and parks. [Link]
Geography: Es gibt nur 100-150 Paare in der Schweiz, darum steht es auf der Rote Liste CH as stark gefährdet - und ist sicher schwierig zu finden. [Link]
Song: Sein lauter, lebhafter und variabler Gesang setzt sich aus flötenden, zwitschernden und nasalen Tönen sowie Imitationen anderer Vogelarten wie Drosseln, Meisen, Schwalben oder Pirol zusammen. [Scheint mir aus Segmente von ~2 Sekunden zu bestehen.] [Link]
Song very virtuous and varied. Most similar to Marsh Warbler, but timbre and attack harder and more powerful. Tempo varied with many pauses, but includes longer, and more flowing sequences than Marsh Warbler. Song frequently interrupted by characteristic, nasal, high-pitched squeaks unlike Marsh Warbler. Master of mimicry. Imitations are often repeated several times before changing to melodious motifs or more "noisy" phrases. [Link]
Calls: Contact call distinct. A hard, trisyllabic "che-che-fink" , or "che-che-weet" with upward inflection. [Link]
Physical details: length=13 cm, wingspan=20-24 cm, weight=10-15 g
Habitats: Agricultural

Song: Short bits 4-8 notes, sometimes with a little pause, overall a greenfinch feel. Some whoops, some chucks like a great tit, some bits like a house sparrow, even a meow. BirdLife Schweiz says full of vigor, includes some mis-tones and creaky calls; eBird says Song is fast, loud, and melodious with lots of mimicry.Can sing low (2k) or high (10k)
Song attributes: Melody: improvised melodic, fast, Frequency: 2-10 KHz Special sounds: mimicry
🔍 No documented observation

Additional Audio


♫ XC772854 - Icterine Warbler - Hippolais icterina - song, recorded in Sweden. Source: XENOCANTO XC772854 - Icterine Warbler - Hippolais icterina - song, recorded in Sweden.mp3 (song)


♫ XC554419 - Icterine Warbler - Hippolais icterina - song. Source: XENOCANTO XC554419 - Icterine Warbler - Hippolais icterina - song.mp3 (song)