Marmora's warbler

Taxonomy

The Dutch zoologist Coenraad Jacob Temminck described Marmora's warbler in 1820 under the binomial name Sylvia sarda. His account relied on a manuscript by the Italian soldier and naturalist Alberto della Marmora, read at the Academy of Turin in August 1819. The species now belongs to the genus Curruca, introduced by Johann Matthäus Bechstein in 1802. It is monotypic, with no recognised subspecies.

Distribution and habitat

This small passerine bird lives in open, scrubby places with thorny bushes and heather. It nests in bushes, laying three to five eggs, and eats insects.

While mostly staying put, some head to north Africa for winter. It breeds on Mediterranean islands like Corsica and Sardinia, and is a rare visitor to northern and western Europe. The species forms a superspecies with Tristram's and Dartford warblers.

Description

These birds are small, with a long tail and a large head, very similar to their Dartford warbler relatives. They are entirely grey, unlike the Dartford’s brick-red belly.

Adult males have dark patches on the forehead and between the eye and bill. Their legs and iris are red, and they sing a fast rattle. Young birds have a dark iris and a paler throat than young Dartford warblers, which can cause confusion.