Small passerine, feeds on small invertebrates. Nominate flava: S Scandinavia to C Europe; beema: Russia to W Siberia; cinereocapilla: Italy, Slovenia; pygmaea: Egypt; iberiae: SW France, Iberia and NW Africa; eucocephala: NW Mongolia to NW China; flavissima: Britain, coast W Europe; lutea: Lower Volga R to Kazakhstan; feldegg (melanogrisea): Balkans to Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan; thunbergi: Scandinavia to NW Siberia. Prefers fringes of wetlands and similar habitats natural or artificially managed. Population decreasing but large enough to assign status Least Concern. Most populations migratory.