African Reed Warbler - BirdForum Opus

Photo by CollinBax
Cape Town, South Africa, February 2011

Acrocephalus baeticatus

Identification

12–13 cm (4¾-5 in)

• 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.

Distribution

Sub-Saharan Africa and the Iberian Peninsula

Taxonomy

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

Subspecies

There are 6 subspecies^[1]:

• A. b. ambiguus:

• Breeds in northwestern Africa (Morocco to Tunisia) and southwestern Europe (Iberian Peninsula); Moroccon population at least partially resident, otherwise winters in sub-Saharan Africa, but range not known in detail

• A. b. guiersi:

• Northern Senegal

• A. b. cinnamomeus:

• Senegal east to South Sudan, Ethiopia, and southern Somalia, south to eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, eastern Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique

• A. b. hallae:

• Southwestern Angola south to western Botswana and western South Africa

• A. b. suahelicus:

• Coastal Tanzania to eastern Mozambique and northeastern South Africa (KwaZulu-Natal)

• A. b. baeticatus:

• Eastern Botswana and Zimbabwe to southern and southeastern South Africa

avicenniae, now a subspecies of Eurasian Reed Warbler was formerly included in this species. A. cinnamomeus is sometimes split (Cinnamon Warbler) as separate species.

Habitat

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

Behaviour

Diet

The diet consists of insects and invertebrates. They generally forage low down or at a medium height in reeds, sedges, bushes etc.

Breeding

They build a deep basket nest from strips of reed, grass and sedges, lined with finer grasses, placed low in reeds. The clutch consists of 2-4 white eggs.

Vocalisation

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

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2017. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2017, with updates to August 2017. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved January 2016)
3. Wikipedia

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) African Reed Warbler. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 3 May 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/African_Reed_Warbler

External Links

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