The The first record of a hybrid between the Yellow-browed Warbler Phylloscopus inornatus and the Pallas's Leaf Warbler Ph. proregulus
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33910/2686-9519-2026-18-2-654-661Keywords:
hybridization, Phylloscopus inornatus, Phylloscopus proregulus, Yellow-browed Warbler, Pallas's Leaf Warbler, morphometrics, Yakutia, ornithology.Abstract
We describe the first documented case of hybridization between two widespread Palearctic leaf warbler species, the Yellow-browed Warbler (Phylloscopus inornatus) and the Pallas's Leaf Warbler (Ph. proregulus). The specimen, initially identified as Ph. inornatus, was captured on August 30, 2024, at the Batamay banding station (Sakha Republic, Yakutia). Subsequent morphological and morphometric examination of the museum skin revealed a mosaic of parental traits. The bird exhibits intermediate plumage characteristics (an оlive-green coloration of the back, similar to Ph. proregulus, combined with the size of the superciliary stripe of Ph. inornatus, the presence of an indistinct light spot on the rump, etc.) and discrete morphometric parameters. Canonical discriminant analysis based on five measurements (wing, tail, tarsus, bill from nostril, and bill from skull lengths) clearly separates this individual from reference groups of both parent species. This finding is of interest as further evidence of a breakdown in reproductive isolation in species of the genus Phylloscopus.
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