How to Identify Wintering Leaf Warblers in South India: Practical Beginner-friendly Field Guide
- Wildagram Adventures
- Dec 18, 2025
- 6 min read
Article by Jai
Why Leaf Warblers Are So Hard to Identify?
The leaf warblers belong to a genus called Phylloscopus. The warblers in this genus are notoriously alike. They differ in very subtle features that are often overlooked by an untrained eye. They are also quite skulky and skittish, flying high up in the canopy, making field identification all the more difficult. These are reasons why novice/amateur birdwatchers and photographers often struggle to accurately ID these warblers.
When and Where to See Winter Warblers in South India?
These warblers are found all across the Western Ghats and their adjoining regions from November to February. Even healthy habitats and vegetation patches within large developing cities like Mumbai, Pune, Coimbatore, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Kochi offer safe winter refuge for these tiny birds. If you feel like you have great native vegetation by your house windows that can offer a cooler microhabitat, look out your window for loud yet small and skittish birds. You might just find one if you are lucky!
How to Identify Leaf Warblers in the Field?
The most reliable identification is done by learning their vocalisations, as seeing their physical features clearly might be a little challenging in the field. But in case you want to visually identify these from photographs, mainly observe the following features:
Colour of the:
Upperparts
Underparts
Beak
Eyebrow(supercilium)
Wing-bars: Bars on the wings
Median Crown Stripe: a stripe running across the top of the head from the beak to the back of the head (nape)
Size and shape of the eyebrow(supercilium)
Overall size and shape
Winter Leaf Warblers of South India – Species by Species Identification Guide
Hume's Leaf Warbler:
Size & shape: Very small leaf-warbler, relatively slender with a fine bill.
Key plumage marks: Olive-green upperparts, long pale supercilium (extends well back), typically only one clear wing-bar (second bar often faint or absent), dark lower mandible and darker legs (helps separate from Yellow-browed).
Voice: Thin, high buzzing note and a more disyllabic “tsee-tsee” call (different from Yellow-browed’s single note). Listening is often the quickest separation.
Habitat in winter: Woodland edges, gardens, scrub and low trees across peninsular India, often inconspicuous in foliage.
Similar species & tips: Resembles Yellow-browed Warbler but Hume’s usually:
duller overall
darker bill/legs
and only one prominent wing-bar.
Yellow-browed Warbler :
Size & shape: Tiny, round-headed leaf-warbler, often appears very small and sprightly.
Key plumage marks:
Distinct, bright and broad "brow" with yellow ting
Two pale wing-bars
Olive upperparts and pale underparts.
Legs are often paler (not very dark) compared with Hume’s.
Voice: Two-tone single notes and soft “tsee” series — its calls are distinctive and are often heard before the bird is seen.
Habitat in winter: Widely distributed in winter through eastern and north-eastern India and in smaller numbers across peninsular scrub and gardens; common in low scrub and mangroves where migrant flocks occur.
Similar species & tips: Compared to Hume’s: broader, brighter supercilium and two wing-bars; call is often a reliable character.
Tickell's Leaf Warbler :
Size & shape: Small to medium leaf-warbler, more compact with a finely pointed bill.
Key plumage marks:
Bright yellowish underparts and cheeks
Clear lemon-yellow supercilium
Usually no wing-bar
Uniform greenish-brown upperparts.
Voice: A high, thin “chiff/chiff” series — regional variation exists.
Habitat in winter: Common in low shrubs, secondary growth and gardens of the plains and peninsular India (including Western Ghats); often occurs low in vegetation and in mixed flocks.
Similar species & tips: Can be confused with Sulphur-bellied Warbler and some other brown-yellow Phylloscopus --> note the clean yellow throat/underparts and lack of wing-bar; bill and cheek tone also useful
Greenish Warbler:
Size & shape: Small, typical “leaf-warbler” shape; often shows a slightly elongated profile.
Key plumage marks:
Grey-green upperparts
Off-white to yellowish underparts
Single wing-bar
and a pale supercilium
Voice: Repetitive buzzing/singing phrase — listen for the species-typical song if present.
Habitat in winter: Strongly migratory — winters widely across the subcontinent in woodland, scrub and edge habitats; often moves through mixed flocks.
Similar species & tips: Separating Greenish from Green Warbler takes attention: Greenish is generally duller/greener and usually has only a single wing-bar; use bill length, underpart tone and supercilium shape as clues.
Green Warbler:
Size & shape: Similar to Greenish but often brighter yellow-green overall and slightly shorter-winged.
Key plumage marks:
Brighter yellow undersides than Greenish
typically one strong wing-bar and a faint second bar (the second bar often clearer in juveniles)
Long yellow supercilium(eyebrow)
and a relatively long, fine bill
Voice: Distinct song (consult audio references) differs from Greenish by phrasing and tone.
Habitat in winter: Winters in parts of southern India (more restricted than Greenish) and Sri Lanka; look for it in hill-forest edges and plantations.
Similar species & tips: When in doubt between Green and Greenish, note overall brightness (Green is yellower), wing-bar pattern and facial contrast.
Common Chiffchaff:
Size & shape: Small, diffused olive-brown warbler with a habit of tail-wagging; relatively plain overall.
Key plumage marks:
Dull olive-brown upperparts
paler (often buffy) underparts
no strong wing-bars
and a fine dark bill.
Voice: “chiff-chaff” song is diagnostic on breeding grounds; wintering subspecies/forms (e.g. tristis) give single, ticking or raspy notes — vocal differences are crucial for separation from other Phylloscopus.
Habitat in winter: Regular winter migrant to Gujarat, western and peninsular India; occurs in scrub, parks, wetlands and irrigation fringe vegetation.
Similar species & tips: Can be confused with many small olive warblers; absence of a wing-bar and characteristic tail behaviour plus call/phrase help separate it.
Large-billed Leaf-Warbler:
Size & shape: Larger, bulkier Phylloscopus with a noticeably big, sturdy bill (one of the best field characters). Legs relatively long.
Key plumage marks:
Olive-green upperparts
Prominent pale supercilium
Single faint wing-bar
Overall heavier, thicker-necked appearance.
Voice: Harsh, sharp notes — often heard in dense foliage; song/calls can be diagnostic if you have regional audio.
Habitat in winter: Breeds in Himalaya / hills and migrates to lower hills and peninsular pockets in winter — look in dense evergreen and moist hill forests of southern India where recorded.
Similar species & tips: The large bill (compare with the bill of nearby Phylloscopus) and heavier look separate it from other small leaf-warblers. Photographs of roosting birds are very helpful.
Tytler’s Leaf-Warbler:
Size & shape: Small, fine-billed warbler with a pointed face profile and rather shortened rictal feathering (giving a pointed face look)
Key plumage marks:
Greyish-olive upperparts
Pale supercilium
no wing-bars
and a generally subdued, greyish face compared with greener warblers.
Voice: Species-specific calls; song and call note structure are important for confident ID.
Habitat in winter: Notable winter visitor to the Western Ghats and Deccan hillocks of peninsular India; occurs in moist hilltop forests and shola fragments.
Similar species & tips: Often confused with other greyish-green Phylloscopus — note lack of wing-bars, fine bill, and winter-range (Western Ghats records are a strong clue). Check regional references for known wintering sites.
Sulphur-bellied Warbler:
Size & shape: Small leaf-warbler, generally plain in shape but with a more distinct yellow wash below.
Key plumage marks:
Greyish-brown upperparts with a distinct sulphur-yellow (pale yellow) wash on the belly/underparts
No wing-bars
a long bright yellow supercilium.
Voice: Single note “cheep” calls; vocalizations are simple and useful where present.
Habitat in winter: Favors rocky hills, scrub and stony slopes in migration/winter — commonly recorded at low densities across peninsular India in such habitats.
Similar species & tips: Can resemble Tickell’s or other yellow-washed warblers; the habitat (rocky scrub) plus the specific pale sulphur wash to the belly helps separate it.
Western-crowned Warbler:
Size & shape: Small, neat leaf-warbler with a compact body and fine bill; often looks short-tailed.
Key plumage marks:
Bold head pattern is the giveaway: a dark central crown stripe bordered by two pale yellowish crown stripes (“crowned” look).
Clear, long and pale supercilium extending behind the eye.
Two pale wing-bars are usually visible.
Olive-green upperparts; whitish to pale yellow underparts.
Voice: Sharp, high-pitched “tsee” or short series of thin notes; distinctive once learnt and very helpful in mixed flocks.
Habitat in winter (South India): Winters mainly in the Western Ghats, especially evergreen and semi-evergreen forests, forest edges and shaded plantations; often in mid-canopy.
Similar species & tips:
Unlike Yellow-browed or Hume’s Warbler, shows a striped crown pattern (not just a supercilium).
The combination of crown stripes + two wing-bars is unique among regular wintering Phylloscopus in South India.
If you see the crown clearly, identification is usually straightforward.
Tips for the field:
Listen first. Many Phylloscopus are more often heard than seen; song/call is the fastest separator.
Note supercilium and wing-bars at first sight — these are the most reliable plumage cues.
Habitat & location: Western Ghats winterers (e.g., Tytler’s) vs widespread migrants — use known wintering hotspots to weigh possibilities.
Photograph & compare later with regional accounts and audio
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