Rüppell's warbler is a passerine bird of the genus Curruca. It breeds in Greece, Turkey and neighbouring islands. It is migratory, wintering in northeast Africa. This is a rare vagrant to western Europe. The name is occasionally cited as "Rueppell's warbler".
Region
Eastern Mediterranean and Northeast Africa
Typical Environment
Breeds locally in Greece (including many Aegean islands), western Turkey, and nearby coastal regions with suitable scrub. During migration it passes through the eastern Mediterranean basin. In winter it moves to northeast Africa, especially the Red Sea hinterland and Sahel-edge scrub from Egypt and Sudan to Eritrea and Ethiopia. It prefers dry, rocky hillsides with dense low shrubs, maquis, and phrygana, often near the coast. Rare vagrants reach western Europe.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 1800 m
Climate Zone
Subtropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
Rüppell's warbler is a small Curruca warbler that breeds around the eastern Mediterranean and winters in northeast Africa. Males are striking with a blackish head and throat offset by a bold white moustachial stripe, while females are duller and browner. It favors dry scrub and maquis, keeping low and skulking but becoming conspicuous when singing in spring.
Curruca ruppeli - MHNT
Temperament
skulking but active
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats with low darting flights
Social Behavior
Typically encountered singly or in pairs on breeding territories. Nests low in dense shrubs, where it lays a small clutch that both parents incubate and feed. Outside the breeding season it may join mixed-species flocks in scrubby wintering habitats.
Migratory Pattern
Seasonal migrant
Song Description
A fast, scratchy warble with buzzy trills and rattling phrases delivered from a prominent perch. Calls include sharp tacks and dry churring notes, often given when alarmed.
Plumage
Male with dark slate-grey upperparts, blackish head and throat, and a clean white moustachial stripe and malar area; underparts grey with a faint pinkish wash on the breast. Female and immature birds are browner-grey above with a paler, less contrasting face and throat. Both sexes show white outer tail corners and fine, silky body plumage typical of Curruca warblers.
Diet
Primarily insectivorous, taking beetles, caterpillars, spiders, and other small arthropods gleaned from foliage and low branches. It also hawks short distances to snatch flying insects. In late summer and on migration it may supplement its diet with small berries.
Preferred Environment
Feeds in dense low scrub, maquis, and phrygana, working methodically through foliage and twiggy cover. In winter it forages in arid thorn scrub, acacia thickets, and wadis.
