Hippolais olivetorum

The Olive-tree Warbler is classified as Critically Endangered (CR) because of the extremely small size of its breeding population, which is estimated at less than 50 adult individuals. During the past decade, the species was not observed nesting in Israel, and it has probably become extinct as a breeder in Israel. In the previous edition of the Red Book (2002), it was classified as Data Deficient (DD). Although there is still no comprehensive data from its nesting areas in Israel, it can be stated with certainty that the species has disappeared from most of the sites in which it was known to breed until the 2000s, therefore the worsening in the species threat category reflects a deterioration in the population.

Habitats	Parks & Woodlands, Bush & Garrigue
Presence In Israel	Summer Breeder
Nesting In Israel	Breeder
Migration Types	Long Range
Zoography Zones	Mediterranean
Landscape Formations	Mountainous
Vegetation Formations	Mediterranean Maquis, Mediterranean Garrigue
Vegetation Densities	Low, Medium
Nest Locations	Tree
Diet Types	Invertebrate
Foraging Grounds	Trees and Shrubs
Body Sizes	Small (up to 500g)
Threat Factors	Unknown

The Olive-tree Warbler is the largest Hippolais warbler, with long legs and a long tail. Upperparts are dark grey-olive and underparts are whitish. It has long wings and a particularly long primary projection. The pale margins of the secondaries and tertials form a prominent pale patch in the center of the wing.

An extremely rare summer breeder in the Upper Galilee, migrating through Israel in small numbers. According to records from the 19th and early 20th centuries, it was once a summer visitor in central and northern Israel. It was re-discovered as a breeder only in the early 1990s in the Upper Galilee, from Mt. Meron, north and west to the Lebanese border (Gideon Sigali & Itai Shimshon, pers. comm., Shirihai 1996). The most recent records of breeding in Israel are from the early 2000s (Efraim Ezov & Yoav Perlman, pers. comm.).

The factors threatening the Olive-tree Warbler population are not known, and most of the habitats it occupies in the Galilee have not changed significantly during the past two decades. The Upper Galilee is the southern limit of the global population range and the species may be affected by global factors such as climate change, whose effect is greater in edge populations.

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

The Olive-tree Warbler is classified as Critically Endangered (CR). There are no records of nesting in recent years, and the species is probably extinct as a breeder in Israel. Efforts should be made to locate breeding populations in Israel in order to obtain a better assessment of its status and to make decisions regarding its conservation.

A comprehensive survey should be conducted in the areas where the Olive-tree Warbler nested in the past, to try and locate relictual populations and to develop a management program for their preservation.

• פז, ע. 1986. עופות. מתוך אלון, ע. (עורך), החי והצומח של ארץ ישראל. כרך 6. הוצאת משרד הביטחון, ישראל.

• Shirihai, H., 1996. The Birds of Israel. Academic Press, London.
• Symes, A. 2013. Species generation lengths. Unpublished, BirdLife International.
• Species page at Birdlife International