Orphean Warbler

The Orphean Warbler, Sylvia hortensis, is an Old World warbler in the typical warbler genus Sylvia. It has two subspecies; the western race breeds in southwest Europe and north west Africa, and the eastern form breeds in southeast Europe, Turkey and the Caucasus, This warbler is migratory, wintering in sub-Saharan Africa. It is a rare vagrant to northern and western Europe.

These small passerine birds are found in open deciduous woodland. 4–6 eggs are laid in a nest in a bush or tree. Like most warblers, Orphean Warbler is insectivorous.

These are large for warblers, at 15–16 cm length, similar in size to a Blackcap. The adult males have a plain grey back and whitish underparts. The bill is long and pointed and the legs black. The male has a dark grey head, black eye mask and white throat. The iris is white.

Females and immatures have a paler head and buff underparts. The iris is dark. Their grey back has a brownish tinge. The song is a repeated liroo-liroo.

Eastern race birds, S. h. crassirostris, have a more varied song and pinker belly than those breeding in south west Europe and Africa. They are increasingly considered a separate species, the Eastern Orphean Warbler, Sylvia crassirostris (Cretzschmar, 1826), leaving S. hortensis as the Western Orphean Warbler.