Limestone Leaf Warbler Phylloscopus calciatilis is presumed to breed in Guangxi and Yunnan near border with Vietnam; known to breed in northern and central Vietnam and northern and central Laos. Discovered 1994 in forests in rugged limestone karst region of Vietnam. Initially considered disjunct population of Sulphur-breasted Warbler P. ricketti; described as new species in 2009. Plumage virtually identical to Sulphur-breasted Warbler. Distinguished with difficulty by slightly smaller size, proportionally larger bill, and rounder wing (shorter primary projection). Songs markedly different: Both species utter series of quick, high-pitched, slightly descending phrases, sit-SIT-see SIT-sit soo-SA-chew, with Limestone Leaf being clearer and more slow-ending and deliberate and Sulphur-breasted ending in a slurry trill. Double-note call similar to Yellow-vented Warbler P. cantator but even more emphasis on last, lower-pitched syllable. — Craig Brelsford
THE LEAF WARBLERS OF CHINA
shanghaibirding.com has research on most members of Phylloscopus in China. Click any link below:
Wood Warbler Phylloscopus sibilatrix
Buff-barred Warbler P. pulcher
Ashy-throated Warbler P. maculipennis
Hume’s Leaf Warbler P. humei
Yellow-browed Warbler P. inornatus
Chinese Leaf Warbler P. yunnanensis
Lemon-rumped Warbler P. chloronotus
Sichuan Leaf Warbler P. forresti
Gansu Leaf Warbler P. kansuensis
Pallas’s Leaf Warbler P. proregulus
Yellow-streaked Warbler P. armandii
Radde’s Warbler P. schwarzi
Sulphur-bellied Warbler P. griseolus
Tickell’s Leaf Warbler P. affinis
Smoky Warbler P. fuligiventer
Dusky Warbler P. fuscatus
Buff-throated Warbler P. subaffinis
Willow Warbler P. trochilus
Mountain Chiffchaff P. sindianus
Common Chiffchaff P. collybita
Eastern Crowned Warbler P. coronatus
Ijima’s Leaf Warbler P. ijimae
White-spectacled Warbler P. intermedius
Grey-cheeked Warbler P. poliogenys
Green-crowned Warbler P. burkii
Grey-crowned Warbler P. tephrocephalus
Whistler’s Warbler P. whistleri
Bianchi’s Warbler P. valentini
Alström’s Warbler P. soror
Martens’s Warbler P. omeiensis
Two-barred Warbler P. plumbeitarsus
Greenish Warbler P. trochiloides
Emei Leaf Warbler P. emeiensis
Large-billed Leaf Warbler P. magnirostris
Sakhalin Leaf Warbler P. borealoides
Pale-legged Leaf Warbler P. tenellipes
Japanese Leaf Warbler P. xanthodryas
Kamchatka Leaf Warbler P. examinandus
Arctic Warbler P. borealis
Chestnut-crowned Warbler P. castaniceps
Limestone Leaf Warbler P. calciatilis
Sulphur-breasted Warbler P. ricketti
Yellow-vented Warbler P. cantator
Blyth’s Leaf Warbler P. reguloides
Claudia’s Leaf Warbler P. claudiae
Hartert’s Leaf Warbler P. goodsoni
Kloss’s Leaf Warbler P. ogilviegranti
Hainan Leaf Warbler P. hainanus
Davison’s Leaf Warbler P. davisoni
Grey-hooded Warbler P. xanthoschistos
RESOURCES ON LEAF WARBLERS
Use Per Alström’s 40-page presentation on the leaf warblers of China. The document is available in PDF and jpeg:
Presentation on the Identification of Leaf Warblers in China, by Per Alström (PDF version)
Presentation on the Identification of Leaf Warblers in China, by Per Alström (zip folder containing jpegs that can be synced like photos to one’s smartphone)
See also:
— Complete species-level phylogeny of the leaf warbler (Aves: Phylloscopidae) radiation, by Per Alström et al.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Daniel Bengtsson served as chief ornithological consultant for Craig Brelsford’s Photographic Field Guide to the Birds of China, from which this species description is drawn.
