Rüppell's Warbler
Rüppell's warbler (Curruca ruppeli) 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".
Hear it on xeno-canto Community recordings — opens xeno-canto →In Türkiye
Arrives in spring and leaves in autumn; winter records are almost absent.
Most records in March–May.
Provinces where it makes up the largest share of bird records.
Adjusted for how many birdwatchers are out each month; the busiest month = 100%.
2,563 records from Türkiye · #233 of 634 species by number of records. Source: GBIF.org (October 2026). All birds of Türkiye
About
Together with the Cyprus warbler it forms a superspecies with dark throats, white malar streaks and light remigial fringes. This in turn is related to the species of Mediterranean and Middle East Sylvia warblers that have a naked eye-ring, namely the eastern subalpine warbler, Sardinian warbler and Ménétries's warbler. Both groups have a white malar area, but this may not form a clear streak in the latter group; above the white, the heads of males are uniformly dark.
The English name and the specific ruppeli commemorate the German zoologist and explorer Eduard Rüppell (1794–1884).
This is a monotypic species, meaning there are no recognised subspecies.
It is a typical Curruca warbler, similar in size but slimmer than the Sardinian warbler. The adults have a plain grey back and paler grey underparts. The bill is fine and pointed, with brown legs and red eyes.
Text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
At a glance
Similar birds
All birdsHeard this one in the wild?
Record it and Birdy will confirm — then it's in your journal.