Lesser Whitethroat

The lesser whitethroat is the smallest native warbler of Europe, 11.5–13.5 centimetres long and 12–16 grams. The upperparts are grey-brown, with the crown and the fairly short tail greyer and the underparts white, the flanks lightly tinged pale brown. The throat is whitish, the head grey and the legs dark, with a dark iris and a pale lower eyelid. The surest field mark is the grey, sharply defined ear coverts. Male and female are coloured alike, and a bird can live up to eleven years. (German Wikipedia, general species account)

The call is a dry, clicking tett, and on migration a scolding tche-tche-tche that sounds a little like a blue tit. In Europe the song is a loud, rattling telltelltell preceded by a quiet, hurried chatter, and this prelude is the dominant form in eastern Central Europe, Turkey, the Caucasus and Siberia. It is widespread throughout Europe. (German Wikipedia, general species account)