Eastern Bonelli's Warbler

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Eastern Bonelli's Warbler in the UK

A very rare vagrant, in Category A of the British List. The first was on St Mary's, Isles of Scilly, from 30 September to 10 October 1987. About ten have followed, including two reported in spring 2025, in Shetland and on Barra. It was once treated as a race of Bonelli's Warbler, and silent birds are still often left unidentified between Eastern and Western. It breeds from the Balkans through Greece and Turkey and winters in north-east Africa. Western Bonelli's is the commoner of the two here.

Where and when to see an Eastern Bonelli's Warbler

Coastal migrant spots. Shetland leads with three records, Northumberland has two, and the rest are from Scilly, Lundy, Portland and Barra. Spring birds have come from late April to mid-May and autumn birds from late August to mid-October. Check sycamores, willows and sheltered gardens on headlands and islands after south-easterly winds. Most are found by observatory staff or local patch workers, and news goes out on the bird news services the same day. Wait for it to call.

Habitat, diet and field notes

Habitat: Oak woods (very rare).
Diet: Insects.
Field note: Greyer than Western.

How to identify an Eastern Bonelli's Warbler

The size of a Chiffchaff. The head and back are plain pale grey-brown, the underparts silky white, and the wings and tail are edged bright yellow-green, with a yellowish rump that shows as it hovers. The face is plain and open with a dark eye. Compared with Western Bonelli's it averages greyer and colder above, but the two overlap and plumage alone is not safe. The call settles it. It is active, often feeding high in the canopy and picking insects from leaves in brief hovers.

Call and song

The call is a short, hard 'chip', a little like a Crossbill's flight note. That is nothing like Western Bonelli's soft, rising 'hoo-eet'. The song is a short, dry trill, rarely heard in Britain. Heard something you cannot place? Bird Hear identifies UK birds from a 10 second recording, free in your browser.

Confusion species

• Western Bonelli's Warbler: Western gives a rising two-note 'hoo-eet' and averages browner above, while Eastern gives a hard 'chip'.
• Wood Warbler: Wood Warbler is larger and longer-winged with a bright yellow throat and eyebrow and a green back.
• Common Chiffchaff: Chiffchaff is duller olive-brown with buff underparts, dark legs and no bright yellow-green wing panel or pale rump.

Related guide Rare birds in the UK.

Conservation status and Birdedex points

In the Birdedex the Eastern Bonelli's Warbler is a Legendary tier bird, worth +50 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

• Eastern Crowned WarblerLegendary · Coastal scrub (very rare)
• Two-barred Greenish WarblerLegendary · Coastal scrub (very rare)
• Western Bonelli's WarblerEpic · Oak woods (rare)
• Greenish WarblerRare · Mature trees (rare passage)
• Hume's WarblerEpic · Coastal trees
• Iberian ChiffchaffEpic · Mature trees (rare migrant)

Eastern Bonelli's Warbler: quick answers

Has an Eastern Bonelli's Warbler ever been seen in the UK?

Yes, about ten times. The first was on Scilly in 1987 and others have reached Northumberland, Shetland, Lundy, Dorset, the Isle of Man and the Outer Hebrides. Several stayed only a day.

What is the difference between Eastern Bonelli's Warbler and Western Bonelli's Warbler?

Call is the reliable difference. Eastern gives a hard, sparrow-like 'chip' and Western a soft, rising 'hoo-eet'. Eastern tends to look greyer, but observers are expected to hear or record the call before a record is accepted.

Is the Eastern Bonelli's Warbler rare in the UK?

Very. With about ten accepted records in nearly 40 years, it is far rarer than Western Bonelli's Warbler. A well-watched bird is a major event for listers, as most have been on islands or have moved on fast.

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