Spectacled Warbler

Spectacled Warbler, Sylvia conspicillata, is an Old World warbler in the typical warbler genus Sylvia. It breeds in north west Africa, southwest Europe from Iberia to Italy, and then further east on the eastern Mediterranean islands and coastal regions.

This species is mainly resident in Africa, but other populations migrate to winter in more widely in north and west Africa and Egypt. This bird is a rare vagrant to northern and western Europe.

These small passerine birds are found in dry open country with bushes. 3-6 eggs are laid in a nest in a bush. Like most warblers, Spectacled Warbler is insectivorous.

These are very small warblers and most resemble a small, slender and large-headed Whitethroat. Spectacled Warblers are brown above and buff, with chestnut wings and a white throat. Adult males have a grey head and the white eye ring which gives the species its name. The song is a fast high warble.

Immature birds can be confused with both Whitethroat and Subalpine Warbler, and identification is difficult in the field.