Afghanistan (B), Armenia (B), Azerbaijan (B), Bahrain, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Georgia (B), India, Iran [Islamic Republic of] (B) (NB), Iraq (B) (P), Israel (B), Jordan (B) (P), Kazakhstan (B), Kenya, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman (P), Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia (P), Somalia, Syrian Arab Republic (B), Tajikistan, Tanzania [United Republic of], Turkey (B), Turkmenistan, Uganda, United Arab Emirates (P), Uzbekistan, Yemen (P).
Vagrant to Cyprus, Sudan.
Breeds locally north-central and southern Turkey, Syria, Israel, extreme southern Caucasus, Iran, and from south-western Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan eastern in mountains to Tajikistan, Afghanistan and south-western Pakistan. Non-breeding eastern Africa.
 
Population
Estimated population is 180,000 - 2,000,000 (2010).
Upcher's Warbler (Hippolais languida) [XC384887]
by Frank Lambert from Port Elizabeth, Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape, South Africa (call)
Upcher's Warbler (Hippolais languida) [XC468982]
by Dave Pullan from Sagala Lodge, Tsavo West, Kenya (song)
Subspecies
No subspecies.
Sister-species of Olive-tree Warbler (Hippolais olivetorum), the two being fairly close to the sister-species pair formed by Melodious Warbler (Hippolais polyglotta) and Icterine Warbler (Hippolais icterina). Eastern populations (eastern from eastern Iran) sometimes separated as a geographical subspecies, magnirostris, on basis mainly of slightly paler upperparts, but appear indistinguishable from birds elsewhere in species' range.