Conservation status: Green
A small, rather nondescript bird, Cetti's warbler (pronounced chetty) is a skulking bird and can prove very difficult to see. It usually makes its presence known with loud bursts of song and the first glimpse will probably be of a dark, rather stocky warbler with short wings and a full, rounded tail, diving for cover. It is one of the UK's most recent colonists, first breeding here in 1973.
Latin name
Cettia cetti
Family
Warblers and allies (Sylviidae)
Where to see them
Likes damp areas close to wetlands. Look for it at RSPB reserves at Radipole Lake and Lodmoor, Dorset; Exminster Marshes, Devon; Marazion Marsh, Cornwall; and Strumpshaw Fen, Norfolk.
When to see them
All year round.
What they eat
Insects and larvae.
Population
| Europe | UK breeding* | UK wintering* | UK passage* | | - | 645 males | - | - |
- In the UK
- S and E England and S Wales.