Menetries's Warbler in the bird sanctuary

On the 12/10's morning we where surprised to find a small Sylvia warbler that already at first glance looked like something special. It was a female Menetries's Warbler of the morph that looks very much like a first year Subalpine Warbler, but having faintly edged tertials, blackish tail feathers, a typical tail pattern and a  small and slender bill, it was quite clear that we had caught the rare Menetries's.

The Menetries's Warbler is a rare vagrant coming to our area from Turkey and the Caucasian mountains on it's way to its wintering grounds at southern Arabia and east Africa. The last times we observed this warbler in Eilat was when a first year male was caught and ringed last spring, and an over wintering female in winter 2005.