Western-like Orphean Warbler (Sylvia hortensis)

Ein Gedi, Dead Sea, Israel, 13^th April 2010.

Hadoram Shirihai

Sometimes after midday, before the enterance to Nahal Arogut at the Dead sea, I heard the familiar song of S. hortensis from within a thick acacia, the bird was continually singing but I was unable to see the bird for the first 5 minutes.

The song of the S. hortensis is unmistakable (diagnostic): thrush-like and more monotonous (less varied). I heard it for prolonged time and very well, my recording equipment was packed and when I eventually got to set it up, the bird already stopped singing and soon after, I lost it - so no recordings of the bird, nor photo could be taken, but several closed up views obtained.

In terms of Size & Shape, it seemed smaller overall, with shorter primary-projection and notably shorter bill than S. crassirostris, Eastern Orphean Warbler.

Plumage wise, the bird was an adult male and classic forS. hortensis: browner (less pure grey) above, warmer buff (and some pink) or brownish suffusion below, making white throat contrasting, but undertail-coverts also buff and appear plain. The head appeared clearly more solidly blackish (blacker) with less grey effect at the rear than the usual corresponding age/sex of crassirostris.

Please note that hortensis-crassirostris is genetic/acoustic split and that with records of such birds outside their normal range it would be advisable to accept if they are trapped or voice recorded and a photograph was obtained.
For that reason I would log this bird as Western-like Orphean Warbler, and suggest NOT to accept the record by the Rarities Committee. I also prefer to take a caution approach here since I am not yet fully convinced that hortensis-crassirostris are completely phenotypically separated, while there is uncertainty about some populations, especially from N Africa.

Still, this encounter clearly suggests that there is a high probability that S. hortensis does occur in Israel (as vagrant)and it would be valuable to note down the species morpholigical and acoustic features.