Limestone Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus calciatilis)
Illustration redrawn by AI from a real photograph

Limestone Leaf Warbler

Phylloscopus calciatilis Alström, Davidson, PJ, Duckworth, Eames, JC, Trai Trong Le, Nguyen Cu, Olsson, Robson & Timmins, 2009

≈10 cmLength6 gWeight

This small leaf warbler has a yellow breast and green back and lives in limestone karst mountain forest.

Busiest months: March · Most records: Vietnam, China, Laos

Looks like Sulphur-breasted Warbler

Least Concern

How to identify

Field marks

  1. Gray-green upperparts; bright yellow throat, breast and belly
  2. Streaked crown with black lateral crown-stripes
  3. Yellow supercilium with a slight pale green tinge
  4. Black eyestripe from lores to above ear-coverts

Male, female and young

Juvenile has fluffier feathers and slightly paler yellow underparts.

Similar species

Sulphur-breasted Warbler
Sulphur-breasted Warbler

This species is smaller with rounder wings; plumage is almost identical, making reliable separation by plumage alone difficult.

Where and when it's recorded

Busiest months: March · Most records: Vietnam, China, Laos

Limestone Leaf Warbler has been recorded at 12 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 3 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

  1. Cuc Phuong NPVietnam123 records
  2. Phong Nha-Ke Bang National ParkVietnam89 records
  3. LonghengChina87 records
More places
  1. Nonggang NNRChina64 records
  2. Cuc Phuong NP – Bong SubstationVietnam43 records
  3. Phou Pha Marn – The Rock ViewpointLaos4 records
  4. Cuc Phuong NP – HeadquartersVietnam4 records
  5. WangnaChina4 records
  6. Van Long Nature ReserveVietnam3 records
  7. Shiwan Dashan NNRChina1 record

Countries and regions with the most records

VietnamChinaLaos

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

About

The limestone leaf warbler (Phylloscopus calciatilis) is a species of warbler in the family Phylloscopidae. When this species was first seen, beginning in 1994, it was mistaken for the similar sulphur-breasted warbler. It is smaller than the sulphur-breasted warbler, and has more rounded wings.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

Questions

How big is the Limestone Leaf Warbler?

The Limestone Leaf Warbler is about ≈10 cm long and weighs around 6 g.

Where does the Limestone Leaf Warbler live?

Its breeding range: Oriental: northern, central Vietnam and northern, central Laos. It is most often recorded in Vietnam, China and Laos.

When is the best time to see the Limestone Leaf Warbler?

At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in March (Northern Hemisphere).

Is the Limestone Leaf Warbler endangered?

The IUCN Red List classifies the Limestone Leaf Warbler as Least Concern.

What does the Limestone Leaf Warbler eat?

Main food: Insects & other invertebrates.

What family is the Limestone Leaf Warbler in?

It belongs to the family Leaf Warblers (Phylloscopidae), order Passerines (Passeriformes).

At a glance

Length
≈10 cm
Weight
6 g
Diet
Insects & other invertebrates
Lifestyle
Perches in trees
Migration
Resident (barely migrates)
Conservation
Least Concern
More measurements
Wing
54 mm
Tail
42 mm
Bill
12 mm
Tarsus
16 mm

Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.

Range

Oriental: northern, central Vietnam and northern, central Laos

Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2

Classification

Order
Passerines Passeriformes
Family
Leaf Warblers Phylloscopidae
Genus
Phylloscopus

Other birds in the genus Phylloscopus

Wood WarblerWood WarblerPhylloscopus sibilatrixWestern Bonelli's WarblerWestern Bonelli's WarblerPhylloscopus bonelliEastern Bonelli's WarblerEastern Bonelli's WarblerPhylloscopus orientalisBuff-barred WarblerBuff-barred WarblerPhylloscopus pulcherAshy-throated WarblerAshy-throated WarblerPhylloscopus maculipennisHume's Leaf WarblerHume's Leaf WarblerPhylloscopus humeiYellow-browed WarblerYellow-browed WarblerPhylloscopus inornatusBrooks's Leaf WarblerBrooks's Leaf WarblerPhylloscopus subviridisChinese Leaf WarblerChinese Leaf WarblerPhylloscopus yunnanensisLemon-rumped WarblerLemon-rumped WarblerPhylloscopus chloronotusSichuan Leaf WarblerSichuan Leaf WarblerPhylloscopus forrestiGansu Leaf WarblerGansu Leaf WarblerPhylloscopus kansuensis
Limestone Leaf Warbler

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Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by Yishen Xiao. ↗

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