The subalpine warbler (Sylvia cantillans) is a small typical warbler which breeds in the southernmost areas of Europe and northwest Africa. It was first described by the German naturalist Peter Simon Pallas in 1764 and given the binomial name Montacilla cantillans. The current genus name is from Modern Latin silvia, a woodland sprite, related to silva, a wood. The specific cantillans is Latin for "warbling" from canere, "to sing". This small passerine bird is migratory, and winters along the southern edge of the Sahara. It occurs as a vagrant well away from the breeding range, in both spring and autumn as far north as Great Britain.