Old World Warblers (Sylviidae)

Cetti's Warbler (Cettia cetti) - HBW 11, p. 595

French: Bouscarle de Cetti German: Seidensänger Spanish: Cetia Ruiseñor
Other common names: Cetti’s Bush-warbler

Taxonomy: Sylvia cetti Temminck, 1820, Sardinia.
Geographical variation largely clinal; race orientalis poorly defined, intermediate between nominate and albiventris. Birds from NE Italy and Balkans E to W Asia Minor, larger than nominate and slightly more olive above and greyer below, described as race sericea, possibly worthy of recognition. Three subspecies recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution:

cetti (Temminck, 1820) - W Europe (S from S England) and N coast of Mediterranean (S from S Austria), throughout Greece and much of S Balkans E to W & NW Black Sea coast; also NW Africa (Morocco E to Tunisia).
orientalis Tristram, 1867 - Crimea and Turkey E to Iraq, N Iran (foothills of Zagros Mts) and N Afghanistan.
albiventris Severtsov, 1873 - N Kazakhstan (from Volga Delta and lower R Ural) E to L Balkhash and extreme NW China (NW Xinjiang), S to Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and NW Afghanistan; non-breeding S Iran, S Afghanistan and Pakistan (S to Sind) and NW India (Punjab, Rajasthan).