From Opus

Adult
Photo by Devon Pike
Saipan, July 2012

Acrocephalus luscinius

Includes Saipan Reed Warbler, Pagan Reed Warbler; Aguiguan Reed Warbler

[edit] Identification

17cm. Yellowish below and darker brown/yellow above with a large and very long bill.

[edit] Distribution

Australasia

[edit] Taxonomy

Clements accepts three subspecies:

• A. l. luscinius on the Mariana Islands (Guam, Agrihan, Alamagan and Saipan)
• A. l. yamashinae on Pagan (northern Mariana Islands)
• A. l. nijoi on Aguijan (northern Mariana Islands)

Gill and Donsker split yamashinae as Pagan Reed Warbler, the birds from Saipan as Saipan Reed Warbler, Acrocephalus hiwae and the birds from Aguiguan as Aguiguan Reed Warbler, Acrocephalus nijoi.

The population on Guam has been extirpated since the late 1960s. Acrocephalus luscinia nijoi of the presently uninhabited island of Aguiguan was first reported in 1940 by a Japanese collector, and surveys conducted by the Commonwealth in 1983 and 1985 yielded a maximum count of six individuals. Acrocephalus luscinia yamashinae of uninhabited Pagan has been little studied, and is believed to have survived in small numbers until at least the 1960s. The population is now thought to be extirpated. The total number of nightingale reed-warblers is approximately 6,225-6,230 individuals distributed over three islands: Aguiguan (1-6), Saipan (4,225), and Alamagan (2,000).

[edit] Habitat

Forest edges, reed marshes, and wetlands.

[edit] Behaviour

They often sing at night.

Diet includes insects, spiders, snails, and lizards.

[edit] References

1. Clements, JF. 2011. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to August 2011. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/downloadable-clements-checklist
2. Gill, F and D Donsker (Eds). 2011. IOC World Bird Names (version 2.10). Available at http://www.worldbirdnames.org/.

• List of references

[edit] External Links