Sardinian Warbler

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Sardinian Warbler in the UK

A rare vagrant. The first British record was an adult male trapped on Lundy, Devon, on 10 May 1955, and there were 81 records by the end of 2018. About 60 per cent came in the 1980s and 1990s. Only 25 were found between 2000 and 2018, so it is becoming harder to see here, even though it is common around the Mediterranean. It is largely resident there, which explains the low numbers. Some British birds have stayed for weeks or months, including a pair at Skegness, Lincolnshire, in 2003 and 2004.

Where and when to see a Sardinian Warbler

Coastal scrub on headlands and islands: gorse, bramble, sea buckthorn and sheltered gardens. Spring is the main season, and English records tend to fall earlier in the year than Scottish ones. Bird observatories account for a good share, with Gibraltar Point in Lincolnshire hosting two long-staying males. It skulks low in cover, so listen for the rattling call and wait for the bird to climb to a bush top. News goes out on the bird news services, and long-stayers give time to plan.

Habitat, diet and field notes

Habitat: Dense Med scrub.
Diet: Insects, berries.
Field note: Buzzing rattle song.

How to identify a Sardinian Warbler

A little smaller than a Whitethroat, with a long tail that it often cocks. The male has a black hood reaching below the eye, a red eye and eye-ring, a clean white throat, grey upperparts and grey-washed flanks. The female has a grey head, brown back and warm buff-brown flanks, with a duller red eye-ring and white throat. Both show white corners to the dark tail. It keeps low, moving through scrub in short, jerky flights and diving back into cover. The red eye-ring is visible at close range on all ages.

Call and song

The call is a loud, hard rattle, 'tcha-tcha-tcha-tcha', like a tiny machine gun. The song is a fast, scratchy warble with the same rattling notes mixed in, given from a bush top or in a short song flight. Heard something you cannot place? Bird Hear identifies UK birds from a 10 second recording, free in your browser.

Confusion species

• Eurasian Blackcap: A male Blackcap has a neat black cap that stops above the eye, grey cheeks, a dark eye and no white in the tail.
• Lesser Whitethroat: Lesser Whitethroat has a grey head with a darker mask, not a black hood, and lacks the red eye-ring.
• Subalpine Warbler: A female Subalpine Warbler is paler and plainer-headed, with a white moustache line and pinkish-buff flanks.

Related guide Rare birds in the UK.

Conservation status and Birdedex points

In the Birdedex the Sardinian Warbler is an Epic tier bird, worth +20 points when you log one. It is not on the Red or Amber lists in Birds of Conservation Concern 5.

Recent UK sightings

Similar birds

• Western Subalpine WarblerEpic · Coastal scrub (very rare)
• Barred WarblerRare · Coastal scrub (scarce)
• Common WhitethroatCommon · Hedges
• Asian Desert WarblerLegendary · Coastal scrub
• Eastern Orphean WarblerLegendary · Scrub (extreme vagrant)
• Lesser WhitethroatUncommon · Hedges

Sardinian Warbler: quick answers

Has a Sardinian Warbler ever been seen in the UK?

Yes. There were 81 British records to the end of 2018, starting with a male on Lundy in 1955. They are spread around the coast from the south-west to the Northern Isles.

Is the Sardinian Warbler rare in the UK?

Yes, and more so than it used to be. After a run of records in the 1980s and 1990s the rate dropped to barely more than one a year. Its skulking habits mean some are probably missed on quiet stretches of coast.

What habitat does Sardinian Warbler live in?

Around the Mediterranean it lives in dense, low scrub, olive groves and gardens, right into towns. Vagrants in Britain pick the nearest match: gorse, bramble and thick coastal bushes. They eat insects and spiders, and berries in autumn and winter.

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