The Melodious Warbler is an Old World warbler

Old World warbler

The "Old World Warblers" is the name used to describe a large group of birds formerly grouped together in the bird family Sylviidae. The family held over 400 species in over 70 genera, and were the source of much taxonomic confusion. Two families were split out initially, the cisticolas into...

 in the tree warbler

Tree warbler

Tree warblers are medium-sized warblers belonging to the genus Hippolais, formerly placed in the "Old World warbler" family Sylviidae but now separated in the marsh- and tree-warbler family Acrocephalidae. They are found in Europe, Africa and western Asia....

 genus Hippolais. It breeds in southwest Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 and northwest Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

. It is migratory

Bird migration

Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...

, wintering in sub-Sahara

Sahara

The Sahara is the world's second largest desert, after Antarctica. At over , it covers most of Northern Africa, making it almost as large as Europe or the United States. The Sahara stretches from the Red Sea, including parts of the Mediterranean coasts, to the outskirts of the Atlantic Ocean...

n Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

.

This small passerine

Passerine

A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...

 bird

Bird

Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...

 is a species found in open woodland with bushes. 3-5 egg

Egg (biology)

An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo first begins to develop. In most birds, reptiles, insects, molluscs, fish, and monotremes, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum, which is expelled from the body and permitted to develop outside the body until the developing...

s are laid in a nest in a tree or a bush.

This is a medium-sized warbler, 12-13cm in length, and similar to its eastern counterpart, Icterine Warbler

Icterine Warbler

The Icterine Warbler is an Old World warbler in the tree warbler genus Hippolais . It breeds in mainland Europe except the southwest, where it is replaced by its western counterpart, Melodious Warbler. It is migratory, wintering in sub-Saharan Africa...

. The adult has a plain brown back and wings, and yellowish underparts. The bill is strong and pointed and the legs are brown. The sexes are identical, as with most warblers, but young birds are paler on the belly.

Like most warblers, it is insectivorous, but will take other small food items including berries.

The song is a pleasant babbling.

External links

• Melodious Warbler videos, photos & sounds on the Internet Bird Collection
• Ageing and sexing (PDF) by Javier Blasco-Zumeta
• Avibase