Eastern Orphean Warbler

The eastern Orphean warbler is one of the largest typical warblers, 15–16 cm long and somewhat larger than a blackcap, found in open deciduous woodland. The adult male has a plain grey back, a dark grey head, a black eye mask and a white throat; females and immatures have a paler head and reddish underparts with a brownish tinge to the grey back. The bill is long and pointed and the legs black. It is difficult to distinguish visually from the western Orphean warbler, and the iris is dark in young birds (Wikipedia, general species account).

The song, a series of warbling liroo-liroo and scolding notes, is more varied than the western Orphean warbler's, approaching the nightingale in richness. Four to six eggs are laid in a nest in a bush or tree. The cached account gives its wintering range as sub-Saharan Africa and does not describe India. SoIB 2023 rates it a Low conservation priority, a winter migrant of grassland and scrub with a Moderate range of about 203,000 km² and insufficient data on trends (Wikipedia, general species account; SoIB 2023).