The Subalpine Warbler, Sylvia cantillans (Pallas, 1764), new to the fauna of Russia, with a review of records of its northern vagrancy (Aves: Sylviidae)

V.M. Loskot, L.V. Sokolov & V.A. Payevsky

Abstract. The appearance of two females of the Subalpine Warbler in Russia (Biological Station of the Zoological Institute, Courish Spit) on May 28, 1992 and April 24, 1997 is described. Characteristic features are given which make it possible to distinguish individuals of this species from morphologically similar representatives of Ménétries’ Warbler, S.mystacea, Geographical variation of the Subalpine Warbler is described, and a map of breeding areas of its four subspecies is presented. A summary of 435 records of the species in northwestern Europe from 1951 to 1995 is given along with a map of the vast northern area of vagrancy. Birds were recorded over an eight-month period, from late March to the 2nd ten days of November. Sex and age composition of vagrants, range of frequency in various years and seasons were analyzed. The principial factors that caused the increase in the number of northern vagrants over the last 45 years include the increased number of observers and the general rise in mean annual temperature in the northern hemisphere. The “overshooting” of migrating individuals in spring anticyclonic conditions, the vagrancy of unsuccessful breeders, and the post-juvenile dispersal affect mainly the frequency of vargants in various years. There are no indications that the total population size has increased or that a northward expansion has occurred. Most vagrants presumably die of starvation or become victims of carnivores and birds of prey. The probability of nesting in places well beyond the normal breeding range is quite small even for single pairs.

Zoosystematica Rossica, 1999, 8(1): 191–199 ▪ Published in print 22 July 1999

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