Booted Warbler

Overview

The booted warbler, Iduna caligata, is a small passerine bird belonging to the reed and tree warbler family, Acrocephalidae. It breeds across Eastern Europe and western Asia, with its range expanding westward in recent decades, while wintering in the Indian subcontinent.

Identification

• Similar in size to a common chiffchaff with a short-winged, pot-bellied jizz and a square-tipped tail.
• Undistinguished plumage that is plain greyish brown on the upperparts and paler on the underparts.
• A clear, pale supercilium and a short bill with a dark tip.

Habitat

Breeding extends from central Russia to western China, reaching as far north as Finland in recent years, with nests built on or close to the ground among dense undergrowth. The species migrates to winter in the Indian subcontinent as far south as Sri Lanka and is a regular vagrant to Western Europe, with over 180 records in Great Britain up to 2023.

Diet

This species is mainly insectivorous.

Did you know?

The species' scientific name, caligata, is derived from the Latin word caliga, meaning 'boot'.