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Hippolais languida

warning Vulnerable
VU (C1,D1)

Contributed: Asaf Mayrose, Yoav Perlman, Nadav Israeli, Noam Weiss, Ezra Hadad, Yosef Kiat, Tuvia Kahn, Rei Segali

Upcher’s Warbler is classified as Vulnerable (VU) because of the small size of its population (less than 1,000 adult birds) and the rapid rate of decline, estimated at more than 10% over three generations (12 years). In the previous edition of the Red Book (2002), it was classified as Near Threatened (NT). The change in its status reflects a deterioration in the population, as well as improvement in the quality of the data and differences in assessment methods.
VU Current Regional Assessment | NT Previous Regional Assessment | LC World Assessment

Habitats Mediterranean Batha, Parks & Woodlands
Presence In Israel Summer Breeder
Nesting In Israel Breeder
Migration Types Long Range
Zoography Zones Mediterranean, Irano-Turanian
Landscape Formations Mountainous
Vegetation Formations Mediterranean Garrigue, Steppe
Vegetation Densities Medium, Low
Nest Locations Tree, Bushes
Diet Types Invertebrate
Foraging Grounds Trees and Shrubs
Body Sizes Small (up to 500g)
Threat Factors Plantations, Wildfires, Habitat Fragmentation

Upcher’s Warbler is a medium sized warbler, larger than the Eastern Olivaceous Warbler and smaller than the Olive-tree Warbler. Its upper parts are dark brown-grey and lower parts are whitish. The tail it is dark, long and wide, bordered in white, which it constantly swings slowly. The male’s song resembles the Nightingale, pleasant and trilling, sung from the top of trees and shrubs.

A rare summer breeder and migrates in small numbers. It nests in shrubland on Mt. Hermon, in the northern Golan Heights and the eastern Lakhish hills. Until the 1980s, it also nested in the Eastern Galilee and Judean and Samarian hills, but in recent years there have been only few observations from these areas.

Habitat destruction due to expansion of settlements and land reclamation for agriculture and planting.
Wildfires in shrubland (Batha and Garrigue) caused by military training exercises.

No specific conservation measures have been taken for this species to date.

Quality Garrigue areas in the northern Golan Heights and the eastern Lakhish region should be protected from wildfires and development.

  • ישראלי, נ. ופרלמן, י. 2013. סיכום סקר עופות מקננים בחרמון. דו"ח מרכז הצפרות של החברה להגנת הטבע.
  • מירוז, א. 2013. סיכום סקר ציפורים במזרח לכיש, אביב 2013. דו"ח רשות הטבע והגנים.
  • מירוז, א. ושוחט, א. 2014. סיכום סקר ציפורים סביב היישוב נטע במזרח לכיש – 2014. דו"ח רשות הטבע והגנים.
  • מירוז, א., 2007 . סיכום סקר ציפורים בגבעות גומר. דו"ח עבור רשות הטבע והגנים.
  • פז, ע. 1986. עופות. מתוך אלון, ע. (עורך), החי והצומח של ארץ ישראל. כרך 6. הוצאת משרד הביטחון, ישראל.
Contributed: Asaf Mayrose, Yoav Perlman, Nadav Israeli, Noam Weiss, Ezra Hadad, Yosef Kiat, Tuvia Kahn, Rei Segali

Current Occupancy Map

Distribution maps

The maps presented here provide visual information on the distribution of species in Israel in the past and present, and the changes in occupancy and nesting density during the comparison period. For further reading


Relative Abundance 2010-2020

Breeding density values as calculated from observation records and expert opinions.

Relative Abundance 1980-1990

Breeding density values are based mainly on the book Birds of Israel (Shirihai 1996).

Occupancy difference 1990-2020

A map that expresses differences in the breeding distribution between the evaluation periods (1980-1990 versus 2010-2020). Negative value - species previously present but is currently absent, positive value - species has not been recorded previously and is currently present, zero - no change in occupancy.

Relative abundance difference 1990-2020

A map that reflects the changes in the relative abundance of the species between the evaluation periods (1980-1990 versus 2010-2020). Negative values - decline in abundance, positive values - increase in abundance, zero - no change in abundance.


Rarity
Vulnerability
Attractiveness
Endemism
Red number
Peripherality

IUCN category
Definition

() districts
Disjunctiveness:
% of protected sites

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