Phylloscopus bonelli
Silhouette: Jiekun He · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The western Bonelli's warbler (Phylloscopus bonelli) is a warbler in the leaf warbler genus Phylloscopus. It was formerly regarded as the western subspecies of a wider "Bonelli's warbler" species, but as a result of modern taxonomic developments, they are now usually considered to be two species:
Western Bonelli's warbler, Phylloscopus bonelli, which breeds in southwest Europe and north Africa Eastern Bonelli's warbler, Phylloscopus orientalis, which breeds in southeast Europe and Asia Minor The breeding ranges of the two species do not overlap; while their appearance and songs are very similar, the calls are completely different (see below). They also show marked difference in mtDNA sequence.
The species is migratory, wintering in sub-Saharan Africa. It is a rare vagrant in Northern Europe. The genus name Phylloscopus is from Ancient Greek phullon, "leaf", and skopos, "seeker" (from skopeo, "to watch"). The English name and the specific bonelli are for the Italian ornithologist Franco Andrea Bonelli.
Western Bonelli's warbler is a small passerine bird, found in forest and woodland. Four to six eggs are laid in a nest on the ground. The eggs are white with reddish... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ecrins National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 2 | Mercantour National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 3 | Sierra de Guadarrama National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 4 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 5 | Picos de Europa National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 6 | Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 7 | Sierra Nevada National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 8 | Aigüestortes National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 9 | Hohe Tauern National Park | 🇦🇹 Austria | |
| 10 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 11 | Triglav National Park | 🇸🇮 Slovenia | |
| 12 | Vanoise National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 13 | Niokolo-Koba National Park | 🇸🇳 Senegal | |
| 14 | Doñana National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 15 | Monfragüe National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 16 | Camargue | 🇫🇷 France |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Western Bonelli's Warbler sighting in Vanoise National Park on a given day, based on 12 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 77th most-seen of the 81 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May–July and September
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Western Bonelli's Warbler in Vanoise National Park on a given day, against under 5% in August, October and December–April, the lowest months. November has too few records to rate.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Western Bonelli's Warbler sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
12th of 16
Of the 16 parks where we can rate Western Bonelli's Warbler sightings, Vanoise National Park ranks 12th at under 5%. The best odds are in Ecrins National Park (France, about 30%), Mercantour National Park (France, about 30%) and Sierra de Guadarrama National Park (Spain, about 20%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Western Bonelli's Warbler is recorded against all the birds logged in Vanoise National Park (12 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
