Emei Leaf Warbler

Overview

The Emei leaf warbler (Phylloscopus emeiensis) is a small passerine bird of the family Phylloscopidae. It is classified as a species of least concern by the IUCN Red List.

Identification

• Length: 11–12 cm (4.3–4.7 in) with dull green upperparts and a whitish underside indistinctly streaked with pale yellow.
• Crown: Greyish-green with a pale median crown-stripe that is broader and more distinct at the rear; prominent pale yellowish-tinged supercilium and distinct dark eye-stripe.
• Wings: Greenish with two prominent wing-bars formed by pale yellowish tips to the median and greater coverts.
• Bill and Legs: Upper mandible is blackish, lower is pale orange; tarsus, toes and claws are pinkish-grey.
• Song: Clear, slightly quivering straight trill between 4 and 6 kHz, lasting 3–4 seconds; call is a soft tu-du-du, tu-du, or tu-du-du-du.

Habitat

Breeds in temperate deciduous broadleaved forest, sometimes mixed with spruce (Picea or Abies), favouring old secondary and replanted broadleaved forest over primary forest. Recorded at elevations between 1000 and 2200 m during the breeding season. Range includes Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangdong and Shaanxi provinces in China, with vagrant records from southeast Myanmar.

Diet

Known to eat insects, though no specific studies currently support details of its foraging behaviour.

Did you know?

The species name emeiensis references Mount Emei, where the bird was first discovered.