Yellow-browed Warbler

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Yellow-browed Warbler in the UK

Yellow-browed Warbler breeds in Siberia and most winter in south-east Asia, yet it is now a regular autumn migrant in Britain. It has not been treated as a national rarity since the early 1960s, and numbers have risen sharply in recent years, with well over a thousand in the best autumns. The likely cause is a growing part of the population heading west to winter in western Europe. On the Scottish east coast and the Northern Isles it can be the most numerous warbler in early October. Winter records are increasing, and a few birds are heard singing in spring.

Where and when to see a Yellow-browed Warbler

Late September to early November, with the peak in October. Shetland, Orkney and the North Sea coast get most: Fair Isle, the Isle of May, Flamborough, Spurn, the north Norfolk pines at Wells and Holkham, and Kent. Scilly and west Cornwall do well later in the month. Check sycamores, willows and sallows in sheltered gullies, churchyards and gardens after easterly winds. Birds often travel with tit flocks or Goldcrests. Learn the call first: most are heard before they are seen. Inland finds are rising.

Habitat, diet and field notes

Habitat: Coastal woodland (autumn).
Diet: Insects.
Field note: Increasing autumn migrant from Siberia.

How to identify a Yellow-browed Warbler

Smaller than a Chiffchaff and only a little bigger than a Goldcrest. Moss-green above and off-white below, with a long, clear creamy-yellow stripe over the eye and two pale wingbars. The lower wingbar is broad and has a dark border. The tertials have neat whitish edges. There is no pale stripe on the crown and no yellow rump patch. It is always on the move, flicking its wings, hovering under leaves and working high in the canopy. In poor light the wingbars and the call are what you will get.

Call and song

The call is a thin, high, rising 'tsoo-eest', drawn out and piercing. It is a bit like a Coal Tit but stronger and more upslurred. Birds call often, especially on arrival. The song is seldom heard here. Heard something you cannot place? Bird Hear identifies UK birds from a 10 second recording, free in your browser.

Confusion species

• Pallas's Leaf Warbler: Pallas's is smaller and brighter with a yellow stripe along the crown and a square lemon rump patch, and tends to arrive later.
• Hume's Leaf Warbler: Hume's is greyer with duller wingbars and darker bill and legs, and its call is a flatter, more sparrow-like 'dsweet'.
• Goldcrest: Goldcrest has a plain face with a beady dark eye and no stripe over it.

Month by month

A passage migrant. Look for it on spring and autumn movements rather than through the summer. Numbers peak in April. See the April birding guide for what else is about. More on the season in Bird migration in Britain.

Taller bars mean more birds about. Grey means it is usually absent.

Conservation status and Birdedex points

In the Birdedex the Yellow-browed Warbler is a Rare tier bird, worth +8 points when you log one. It is not on the Red or Amber lists in Birds of Conservation Concern 5.

Where to see it

Reserves where the Yellow-browed Warbler is on the list:

• Isles of Scilly
• RSPB Minsmere

Recent UK sightings

Similar birds

• Dusky WarblerRare · Coastal scrub (autumn vagrant)
• Pallas's Leaf WarblerRare · Coastal scrub (late autumn)
• Arctic WarblerRare · Coastal scrub (vagrant)
• Common ChiffchaffCommon · Woodland
• Eastern Crowned WarblerLegendary · Coastal scrub (very rare)
• Green WarblerLegendary · Coastal scrub (extreme vagrant)

Yellow-browed Warbler: quick answers

Where can I see a Yellow-browed Warbler in the UK?

Anywhere on the east coast with trees in October, from Shetland to Kent, and on Scilly. Observatories and coastal country parks report them daily in good spells. Inland, check sewage works, canal sides and parks with sycamores, as more are found away from the coast each year.

When is the best time to see Yellow-browed Warbler?

The first three weeks of October. The earliest arrive in mid September in the Northern Isles, and stragglers continue into November. A few now winter in the mild south-west, often beside water where insects stay active.

Is the Yellow-browed Warbler rare in the UK?

Not any more. A generation ago it was a prize find, but it is now an expected autumn migrant on the coast. It is still scarce inland and in spring, so a find on a local patch is a good record.

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