Paddyfield Warbler - BirdForum Opus

Photo by Mike Pennington
Durankulak Lake, Bulgaria

Acrocephalus agricola

Identification

13 cm (5 in)

• Plumage varies through the season from rusty to palish-buff unstreaked upperparts
• Whitish underparts
• Whitish supercillium
• Short bill, with yellowish lower mandible
• Long tail
  

Sexes similar

Similar Species

Eurasian Reed Warbler which has longer wings and shorter tail.

Distribution

Breeds in central Eurasia; winters in southern Asia

Rare, but regular vagrant to western Europe

Taxonomy

subspecies

There are 3 subspecies^[1]:

• S. c. cantillans:

• Mainly coastal and continental Europe, from Iberia east to Italy

• S. c. inornata:

• Morocco to Tunisia and (?) north-western Libya; winters Senegal to western Niger

• S. c. albistriata:

• Balkan Peninsula to western Turkey; winters Sahara oases and Arabia

An additional subspecies, brevipennis, is generally considered invalid^[2].

Habitat

Low dense vegetation such as long grass, reeds and rice, besides lakes and marshes

Behaviour

Flicks and cocks the tail.

Breeding

Nests low in reeds; 4-5 eggs are laid

Diet

Gleans insects from reeds and also in tree canopy.

Vocalisation

Calls and song less harsh than Marsh Warbler.
Call: chek and zak

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2016. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2016, with updates to August 2016. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Avibase
3. Wikipedia
4. Collins Field Guide 5th Edition
5. Collins Bird Guide ISBN 0 00 219728 6

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Paddyfield Warbler. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 26 May 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Paddyfield_Warbler

External Links

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