Phylloscopus affinis
The Tickell's Leaf Warbler (*Phylloscopus affinis*) is a diminutive yet distinctive avian jewel of the high Asian mountains, measuring approximately 10-12 centimeters in length and weighing a mere 5.5-10.5 grams. Its understated elegance is characterized by olive-brown upperparts and creamy-yellowish underparts, strikingly contrasted by a prominent, long, pale supercilium that extends behind the eye, a dark eye-stripe, and a pale lower mandible - key features for identification among its nume...
This species primarily inhabits high-altitude scrub, subalpine meadows, juniper forests, and the treeline zone, typically breeding between 3,000 and 5,000 meters above sea level.
Primarily insectivorous, this warbler feeds on a variety of small insects, their larvae, and spiders, which it actively gleans from foliage and occasionally catches in short aerial sallies.
The Tickell's Leaf Warbler is a highly active and diurnal insectivore, constantly flitting through vegetation, gleaning small insects and larvae from leaves and branches with agile precision. Males are highly territorial during the breeding season, delivering a persistent, characteristic song fro...
The Tickell's Leaf Warbler boasts a broad breeding range spanning the formidable mountain systems of Central and South Asia, including the Himalayas from northeastern Pakistan through northern India, Nepal, Bhutan, and extending into the Tibetan Plateau and western and central China (Sichuan, Yun...
Least Concern
- Named after the British ornithologist and artist Samuel Tickell, who extensively studied birds in India during the 19th century. - Despite its generally dull appearance, its distinctive long supercilium and yellowish wash make it a surprisingly identifiable bird among the notoriously confusing ...