From Opus

Photo by steven(sa)
South Africa, April 2009

Acrocephalus baeticatus

[edit] Identification

13 cm

• Brown upperparts
• White supercilium
• White underparts
• Rufous flanks
• Strong pointed bill with down-curved upper mandible, dull yellow with a yellower base
• Black legs
• Brown eyes
  

The sexes are similar
Juvenile has a rufous rump.

[edit] Distribution

Sub-Saharan Africa and the Arabian Peninsula

[edit] Taxonomy

Acrocephalus baeticatus was split from the Eurasian Reed Warbler Acrocephalus scirpaceus; recent studies indicate that they may be lumped again in future.

Acrocephalus baeticatus has about seven subspecies:

[edit] Subspecies^[1]

• A. b. guiersi:

• Northern Senegal

• A. b. cinnamomeus (fraterculus, hopsoni):

• Senegal to southern Sudan, Ethiopia and Somalia south to Mozambique

• A. b. hallae:

• South-western Angola to Namibia, south-western Botswana, south-western Zambia and Malawi

• A. b. avicenniae:

• Mangroves of coastal Sudan, Eritrea, Somalia and western Arabia

• A. b. suahelicus:

• Coastal Tanzania to Mozambique and Natal

• A. b. baeticatus:

• Northern Botswana to Transvaal, Natal, eastern and southern Cape Province

Some authorities split A. avicenniae (Mangrove Warbler) and A. cinnamomeus (Cinnamon Warbler, including both A. b. cinnamomeus and A. b. fraterculus) as separate species.

[edit] Habitat

Over or close to marshy ground, in reed or sedge beds, or in rank, reedy areas

[edit] Behaviour

[edit] Diet

The diet includes insects and invertebrates.

[edit] Breeding

It builds a deep basket nest from strips of reed blades, grass and sedges, lined with finer grasses, placed low in reeds. 2-4 white eggs are laid.

[edit] Vocalisation

The song is a slow, chattering jit-jit-jit.

[edit] References

1. Clements, JF. 2008. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2008. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist.
2. Wikipedia

[edit] External Links