Hume's Warbler
Autumn birds in fresh plumage such as this one should present no major
problems when seen (and heard) well. The overall colour tone to the
upperparts is drabber, particularly the head and neck is more or less
grey with an obvious contrast towards the central part of the greener
mantle. The supercilium lacks yellow, is more buffish-greyish-white, and
often more diffuse in front of the eye than in Yellow-browed warbler.
Notice, though, that the supercilium in this bird do meet on the
forehead - a field mark that has been discussed in recent years. In
addition to head pattern, the best field marks are on the wing coverts
and tertials. The dark centres to the tertials and greater coverts are
greyer (less blackish) than in Yellow-browed warbler, therefore
contrasting less with the pale edges to these feathers. The tertials are
also less strikingly pale-edged, while the tips to the greater coverts
form the only obvious white wing-bar, giving the impression of a bird
with only one wing-bar when seen under less-than-perfect conditions. The
median-covert bar is shorter and more ill-defined than in Yellow-browed
warbler, since the tips to these feathers are light grey-green or
yellowish-green, not whitish as in Yellow-browed warbler. The bill is
shorter and slightly more blunt-tipped in Hume's warbler, with yellowish
base to lower mandible less bright in colour and not reaching as far
towards the tip and along the cutting edges as in Yellow-browed warbler.
One of the best field-marks will still be the call. The Turöy-bird was first heard, then seen and heard for a short periode before it flew into a mist-net. The call was shorter, but obviously disyllabic, with the high-pitched first part dropping off towards the end, very different and clearly shorter than the call of Yellow-browed Warbler, which is more drawn-out with a higher pitch in the last syllable.
1Y+ Hume's Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus humei) on Turøy 27.10.2000.
1Y+ Yellow-browed Warbler (Phylloscopus inornatus) on Turøy 11.10.2000.