Icterine Warbler ( Hippolais icterina, family: Sylviidae)

Icterine warbler kruger national park birds The Icterine Warbler (Latin name Hippolais icterina) is described in Roberts Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition. This bird has a unique Roberts number of 625 and you will find a full description of this bird on page 804 also a picture of the Icterine Warbler on page 849. The Icterine Warbler belongs to the family of birds classified as Sylviidae.

The map of the Kruger you see on this page shows the areas (coloured orange) where this bird has been identified. The basic information was provided by the Avian Demographic Unit based at UCT and I created the maps from that information ... the green dots show the locations of the various Kruger National Park Rest Camps

The Icterine Warbler is neither Endemic or near Endemic to the Kruger National Park. It is however a common summer visitor

In terms of distribution of the Icterine Warbler in the Kruger National Park you may not see it in all areas. Icterine Warbler : see above distribution map.

Identification assistance for this avian species ...

One of the first indicators to take note of when trying to identify a bird is it relative size. For example how big is the bird compared to a well known familiar bird. The Icterine Warbler is a small bird about the size of a house sparrow. Do not take this relative indicator as anything other than a rough easy to remember indicator. It is not a accurate visualization. The height of the Icterine Warbler is about 14 cms and its weight is about 12 gms

The male and female Icterine Warbler have the same plumage and colours

  • Head is green, olive.
  • Eye is brown.
  • Bill is brown.
  • Throat is brown, white.
  • Back is green, olive.
  • Legs are blue.

This bird has normally proportioned leg length.

Main diet items for this bird ...

The Icterine Warbler feeds on the ground, and on the wing mainly

Invertebrates

Breeding and nesting habits for this bird ...

The Icterine Warbler is monogamous unless its mate dies. In the event of a partner dying Hippolais icterina will seek out a new mate

The nesting habit of Icterine Warbler is to create the nest in branches of a tree or shrub. The bird lays eggs which are white in colour and number between 2 to 4

Habitat and flocking behaviour for this bird ...

The preferred habitats for Icterine Warbler are: woodlands and grasslands and riverine areas

You can expect to see Icterine Warbler in flocks, or pairs or as single birds.

Names of this avian species in other languages ...

Xhosa ... Unknown

Zulu ... Unknown

Afrikaans ...Spotsanger

German ... Gelbsptter

Portuguese ... Felosa-icterina

French ... Hypolas ictrine

Dutch ... Spotvogel

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For in-depth birding information please refer to these authoritative avian references ...

Robert's 7th edition number ... 625

The main reference source for this data was "Roberts - Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition" . Other references were "Newmans Birds of the Kruger Park" by Keith Newman published circa 1980 . Names in foreign languages were obtained from the Percy Fitzpatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town website , www.fitzpatrick.uct.ac.za