Nature Photographers Ltd

The Melodious Warbler Hippolais polyglotta (L 12-13cm) occurs most regularly and recalls an outsized Willow Warbler. It has uniform olive-green upperparts with a brownish hue to the wings; the underparts (paler in juveniles than adults) are pale yellow, the colour most intense on the throat and breast. The legs are greyish brown and there is a pale eyering. Members of this interesting genus of warblers are summer visitors to mainland Europe. Unfortunately, none breeds in Britain but we do get occasional visits from passage migrants; look for them at coastal migration hotspots in autumn after south-easterly winds. As a group, Hippolais warblers are superficially similar to Phylloscopus warblers but have proportionately large heads, a peaked rather than rounded crown, a relatively large, broad-based bill and pale lores.