Yellow-browed Warbler of Britain and Ireland
The Yellow-browed Warbler, Phylloscopus inornatus, is a small green warbler who about the size of a Goldcrest. Most of the population of Yellow-browed Warblers leave their breeding grounds in Russia and fly to Asia. However, an increasing number of these warblers fly across Europe during the autumn.
Ornithologists in Britain and Ireland have noticed a significant number of Yellow-browed Warblers have been arriving along the southern and eastern coasts in the last decade. Most return to Europe and continue their journey to Iberia.
The reason for the surge of Yellow-browed Warblers flying to Britain and Ireland is a mystery although some believe the autumn and winter migration pattern of these warblers has been changing over the last ten years.
Males and females are alike with grey-green plumage above and pale grey below. There is a prominent yellow stripe above the eye.
Yellow-browed Warblers are sociable and active birds who live in open forests, woodland and scrubland.
The main diet of the Yellow-browed Warbler is a wide range of insects and invertebrates which are found high in the canopy of trees.
“Yellow-browed Warblers breed across Russia, extending east from the Urals as far as Kamchatka and south to Afghanistan, northern India and the Sea of Japan”.
“In autumn most of the breeding population probably migrates through north-eastern China, filtering down to the species’ winter quarters, which extend from central Nepal south to the Malay Peninsula” (Birdguides – see below).
A small although increasing number of Yellow-browed Warblers fly through Europe and reach the shores of Britain and Ireland between September and November.
Over a thousand wintering Yellow-browed Warblers now visit the southern and eastern coasts of Britain and Ireland each year.
“Records in England are mostly along the east coast south to Norfolk and along the south coast from Kent to Scilly. A few birds are recorded inland or from western counties”
“In Scotland, the Northern Isles and east coast sites get most of the records, but the species also reaches the Outer Hebrides in most years.
In Wales, most records come from Bardsey Island, and the highest numbers usually coincide with major arrivals on the east coast.
In Ireland, most Yellow-broweds are seen in the counties of Cork, Waterford and Wexford, with Cape Clear, Co Cork, recording the largest influxes, with at least 50 in 1985”
The majority of Yellow-browed Warblers who are seen in Brtiain and Ireland between September and November are birds of passage from Russia.
A small number stay for the winter in Britain and return to their breeding grounds between late March and early April.
Yellow-browed Warblers join flocks of Goldcrests and tits as they roam around woodland searching for food.
The Yellow-browed Warbler is classified as of Least Concern by IUCN.
Europe holds less than 5% of the global population of Yellow-browed Warblers. The European trend is unknown although the global population is regarded as stable.
The Yellow-browed Warbler has not been assessed in Britain. The Yellow-browed Warbler is a green-listed species of bird in the Republic of Ireland.
“After first being recorded in Britain in Northumberland in 1838, numbers rose slowly each year to the 1960s when it was no longer regarded as an official rarity, having clocked up 300 sightings” ( Daily Express - https://www.express.co.uk/comment/columnists/stuart-winter/716544/Winters-tails-beautiful-yellow-browed-warbler-returns-Britain-birds ).
The RSPB reported in 2016 that “Formerly a rare migrant to Britain, numbers of these tiny, brightly-marked warblers have been increasing here in recent years (RSPB - https://community.rspb.org.uk/ourwork/b/scotland/posts/record-breaking-yellow-browed-warbler-influx ).
Birdwatch has reported the number of Yellow-browed Warblers has “ increased significantly in the last decade” in the Republic of Ireland.
Birdlife charities believe Yellow-browed Warblers have recently changed their migratory habits.
“Instead of heading south-east towards Nepal, China or Malaysia, they were travelling south-west, to a new winter home… Once these birds have passed through Britain in late autumn, scientists think they may be overwintering in Spain or Portugal, or even somewhere in West Africa.
But with such mild weather, it’s hardly surprising that some, like this one, are now choosing to stay over in Britain for the whole of the winter” (Guardian - https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jan/17/bird-migration-warbler-asia-somerset ).
For more information on the birds of the gardens and countryside of Britain and Ireland, please visit,
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