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REED WARBLERs and Allies

Order Passeriformes    Family Acrocephalidae

These relatively large warbler-like birds are found mainly in Europe and Asia, but some are found in Africa and Australasia. On islands in the Pacific many different species have evolved. They are usually found in open woodlands or grassy environments. Most are rather plain olivaceous brown above with much yellow to beige below.


Genus Acrocephalus
Rather drab brownish warblers usually associated with marshes or other wetlands. Many species have a relatively flat head profile, which gives rise to the scientific name. Species breeding in temperate regions are strongly migratory.

Millerbird   Acrocephalus familiaris    Found: Ninoa island of Hawaii, Laysan island of Hawaii (introduced)
Image by: 1) John Gerrard Keulemans 2) R Konley - Laysan, Hawaii
1) A. f. familiaris - race of Millerbird now extinct


Warbler,_African Reed-  Acrocephalus baeticatus  Found: Africa
The African Reed-Warbler has brown upperparts; white underparts with rufous wash to flanks; pale supercilium.
Similar to: Marsh Warbler. Marsh Warbler is larger and has "colder" brown upperparts than African Reed-Warbler. It also has a flater head profile.
Image by: 1, 2, 3) Derek Keats - South Africa  4) Ian White


Warbler,_Aquatic   Acrocephalus bistrigiceps   Found: Europe, Asia, Africa
The Aquatic Warbler has heavily streaked brown back; pale underparts with variable streaking; bold whitish supercilium; white median crown stripe.
Image by: 1, 2) Eugene Archer - France  3) Anniolek
1, 2) Juvenile


Warbler,_Australian Reed- Acrocephalus australis   Found: Australia
The Australian Reed-Warbler has brown upperparts; white throat; buff underparts.
Image by:  1) Laurie_Boyle  2) Lip Kee Yap - Royal Park, Melbourne   3) Brian_McCauley


Warbler,_Basra_Reed-  Acrocephalus griseldis  Found: east Afrcia, Iraq, Israel
Similar to: Great Reed-Warbler. The Basra Reed-Warbler is smaller than the Great-Reed-Warbler and has whiter underparts.
Image by: 1) Shailesh_Patel - Kenya


Warbler,_Black-browed Reed-  Acrocephalus bistrigiceps Found: Asia
The Black-browed Reed-Warbler spends its time foraging close to the ground inside undisturbed reed beds.
Similar to: Eurasian Reed-Warbler.
Image by: 1, 2) Nash Chou  3) 57Andrew - Hong Kong  4) Ansel.Ma


Warbler,_Blunt-winged   Acrocephalus tangorum  Found: Asia
Image by: 1, 2) JM Garg - West Bengal, India


Warbler,_Blyth's Reed-   Acrocephalus dumetorum Found: Asia, eastern Europe
Image by: 1) 57Andrew   2) Atle Grimsby   3) Vijay Ismavel - India   4) Imrun_Shah - Pakistan


Warbler,_Cape_Verde_Swamp-  Acrocephalus brevipennis  Found: Cape Verde Islands (350 miles off west Africa)
The Cape Verde Swamp-Warbler has gray-brown upperparts; grayish-white underparts. The geographical isolation of the bird on the Cape Verde Islands prevents confusion with other similar species.
Image by: 1) Graham_Ekins


Warbler,_Caroline Reed-   Acrocephalus syrinx   Found: Caroline Islands of Micronesia
Image by: 1, 2, 3) Tony Morris


Warbler,_Clamorous Reed-  Acrocephalus stentoreus  Found: southeast Europe, Asia, Australia
The Clamorous Reed-Warbler has brown upperparts; whitish underparts.
Image by: 1) JM Garg - Bengal, India  2) Ananda Debnath  3) Marcel Holyoak - Israel


Warbler,_Cook_Islands_Reed-  Acrocephalus kerearako  Found: Cook Islands (near New Zealand)
The Cook Islands Reed-Warbler is also known as the Cook Reed Warbler.
Image by: 1) Gerald_McCormack


Warbler,_Eurasian Reed also Reed Warbler Acrocephalus scirpaceus  Found: Europe, Asia, Africa
The Eurasian Reed-Warbler has an unstreaked brown back; buff underpart; white throat; flattened forehead. Similar to: Black-browed Reed Warbler
Similar to: Great Reed-Warbler. The Great Reed-Warbler has a boldler eyebrow than the Eurasian Reed-Warbler.
Image by: 1) Jürgen Freisinger  2) Matthias Barby  3) Cristiano Crolle - Adda River , Italy 4) Andy_Morffew - England


Warbler,_Greater_Swamp-  Acrocephalus rufescens  Found: Africa
Not surprisingly, the Greater Swamp-Warbler's natural habit is swamps.
Image by: 1) Maans_Booysen


Warbler,_Great Reed-  Acrocephalus arundinaceus  Found: Europe, Asia, Africa
The Great Reed-Warbler has unstreaked brown upperparts and dull buffish-white chin and underparts. The forehead is flattened, and the bill is strong and pointed.
Similar to: Basra Reed-Warbler. The Basra Reed-Warbler is smaller than the Great-Reed-Warbler and has whiter underparts.
Similar to: Eurasian Reed-Warbler. The Great Reed-Warbler has a boldler eyebrow than the Eurasian Reed-Warbler.
Image by: 1) Dick Daniels - specimen in Nairobi National Museum, Kenya  2) coniferconifer - Japan  3) Ian White - Botswana  4) Cristiano Crolle - Adda River, Italy


Warbler,_Henderson_Island_Reed-  Acrocephalus taiti  Found: Henderson Island, part of the Pitcairn Islands
The Henderson Island Reed-Warbler is found on a group of four volcanic islands in the southern Pacific Ocean that form the last British Overseas Territory in the Pacific.
Image by: 1) Geoff_Jones


Warbler,_Kiritimati Reed-  Acrocephalus aequinoctialis   Found: Kiritimati or Christmas Island in the Pacific
Image by: 1) John Gerrard Keulemans  2) David.R808


Warbler,_Large-billed Reed-  Acrocephalus orinus  Found: Asia
The Large-billed Reed-Warbler has olive-brown upperparts; pale-creamy underparts; long bill. Rarely seen.
Image by: 1) Parvel Kvartainov


Warbler,_Lesser Swamp  Acrocephalus gracilirostris  Found: Africa
The Lesser Swamp Warbler's upperparts are rich brown, and it has a white supercilium. The underparts are white, with a rufous wash to the flanks. The long, strong bill has a slightly down-curved upper mandible; it is blackish-yellow with a yellower base. The legs are blue-gray and the eyes are brown.
Image by: 1) Derek_Keats - South Africa   2, 3) Ian White


Warbler,_Madagascar Swamp  Acrocephalus rodericanus  Found: Madagascar
Image by: 1) John Gerrard Keulemans  2) Pat and Keith Taylor - Lac Alarobia  3) Marcus Lilje


Warbler,_Manchurian_Reed- Acrocephalus tangorum  Found: China, Russia, Southeast Asia; Malaysia
The Manchurian Warbler is also known as the
Image by: 1) David_Cook - Cambodia


Warbler,_Marsh Acrocephalus palustris   Found: Europe, Asia, Africa
The male  Marsh Warbler's distinctive song is useful for identification, as no other member of the genus mimics other birds to any significant extent. The Marsh Warbler also tends to avoid the stands of pure reed which are the Reed Warblers' favoured habitat.
Similar to: African Reed-Warbler. Marsh Warbler is larger and has "colder" brown upperparts than African Reed-Warbler. It also has a flater head profile.
Image by: 1) Marek Szczepanek - Poland  2) Dirk and Jan Kraan - Netherlands  3) Sergey Yeliseev - Moscow region   4) Dirk Roorda - Netherlands  5) Joseph Mochoge - Kenya


Warbler,_Moorea_Reed-  Acrocephalus longirostris  Found: Moorea in the Society Islands of French Polynesia
The closest good-sized island to Moorea is Tahiti. The Moorea Reed-Warbler is not found on Tahiti.
Image by: 1) Iconographia Zoologica


Warbler,_Moustached   Acrocephalus melanopogon   Found: Europe, Asia, Africa
The Moustached Warbler has streaked brown upperparts; white underparts; bold white supercilium; gray ear coverts; faint moustach.
Image by: 1) Marcel Holyoak - Israel  2) Francesco Montero  3) Imran_Shah - Pakistan


Warbler,_Nauru_Reed-  Acrocephalus rehsei  Found: Nauru - island northeast of New Guinea
The Nauru Reed-Warbler has dark brown upperparts;  cream underparts. There are only two non-extinct native breeding land-birds on Rauru Island. The other is a pigeon and will thus not be confused with this warbler.
Image by: 1) Rémih  2) Nauru_Post


Warbler,_Northern_Marquesan_Reed-  Acrocephalus percernis  Found: northern Marquesas Islands
The Northern Marquesan Reed-Warbler was formerly considered conspecific with the Southern Marquesan Reed-Warbler,_and together known as the Marquesan reed warbler.
Image by: 1) copsychus - island of Nuku Hiva


Warbler,_Oriental_Reed-  Acrocephalus orientalis   Found: eastern Asia
The Oriental Reed-Warbler has brown upperparts; whitish underparts; browner on flanks and under-tail coverts; dark eye-stripe with white stripe above; narrow grayish streaks on throat and breast; brownish upper bill and pink below.
Image by: 1) KC Hung 2) JM Garg - West Bengal, India  3) 57Andrew  4) LonelyShrimp


Warbler,_Paddyfield  Acrocephalus agricola  Found: Asia
The Paddyfield Warbler has unstreaked pale brown back and buff underparts, with a warm brown rump. There is a whitish supercilium and the bill is short and pointed.
Image by:  1) Patty McGann - Delhi  2) Sergey Yeliseev - Goa, Mandrem, India  3) Vitaliy Khustochka - Ukraine


Warbler,_Pitcairn Reed-  Acrocephalus vaughani    Found: Pitcairn Island (south Pacific)
Image by: 1) John Gerrard Keulemans


Warbler,_Rimitara_Reed-  Acrocephalus rimitarae  Found: French PolynesiaFrench Polynesiaaage
Image by: 1) Angie_Cederlund


Warbler,_Rodrigues  Acrocephalus rodericanus  Found: island of Rodrigues of Mauritius (off southeast coast of Africa)
The Rodrigues Warbler is only found on the island of Rodrighes and they are threatened due to habitat loss and occassional severe storms.
Image by: 1, 2, 3) Peter_Steward


Warbler,_Saipan Reed-   Acrocephalus hiwae   Found: Saipan of Northern Mariana Islands in western Pacific
The Saipan Reed-Warbler has grayish olive-brown upperparts; pale yellow underparts.
Image by: 1) Devonpike

Warbler,_Seychelles  Acrocephalus sechellensis   Found: Seychelles Islands (southeast of Africa)
Image by: 1) Christian Hauser


Warbler,_Sedge  Acrocephalus schoenobaenus  Found: Europe, Asia, Africa
The Sedge Warbler has a streaked brown back and wings, and pale underparts. The rump is warm brown and unstreaked, contrasting with the duller wings. The forehead is flattened, there is a prominent whitish supercilium, the crown is streaked with black, and the bill is strong and pointed. The legs are grayish
Image by: 1) Roger Sanderson  2) Marek Szczepanek  3) Alastair Rae


Warbler,_Society_Islands_Reed-  Acrocephalus musae  Found: Society Islands
The Society Islands Reed-Warbler, also known as the Garrett's Reed-Warbler, is found on Raiatea and Huahine in the Society Islands.
Image by: 1) George_Forster


Warbler,_Southern_Marquesan_Reed-  Acrocephalus mendanae  Found: southern Marquesan Islands
The Northern Marquesan Reed-Warbler was formerly considered conspecific with the Southern Marquesan Reed-Warbler, and together known as the Marquesan reed warbler.
Image by: 1) John_Gerrard_Keulemans  2) Jean-Paul Mutz


Warbler,_Streaked_Reed-  Acrocephalus sorghophilus  Found: China, Philippines
Image by: 1) Biodiversity_Heritage_Library  2) Martin_Williams - China


Warbler,_Tahiti Reed-  Acrocephalus caffer   Found: Tahiti
Image by: 1) William Ellis


Warbler,_ Tuamotu Reed- Acrocephalus atyphus   Found: French Polynesia
Image by: 1, 2, 3) Aaron Maizlish



Genus Calamonastides - 1 species

Warbler,_Papyrus_Yellow-  Calamonastides gracilirostris  Found: Africa
Image by: 1) Haller1962  2) Brendan_Ryan



Genus Hippolais
These Tree Warblers are similar to the Iduna warblers.

Warbler,_Icterine  Hippolais icterina  Found: Europe, Africa
The Icterine Warbler has greenish-brown upperparts; pale yellowish underparts; slightly orange bill; blue-gray legs; faint eye-ring.
Similar to: Melodious Warbler. Icterine Warbler breeds in Europe except in southwest where it is replace by the Melodious Warbler.
Image by: 1) Mike Pennington  2) Rene Jacobson  3) Sergey Yeliseev - Moscow


Warbler,_Melodious  Hippolais polyglotta    Found: southwest Europe, northwest Africa
The Melodious Warbler has brown upperparts; yellowish underparts, face; grayish flanks.
Similar to: Icterine Warbler. Icterine Warbler breeds in Europe except in southwest where it is replace by the Melodious Warbler.
Image by: 1) Muchaxo - Portugal  2, 3) Dave Curtis - Scotland
2, 3) Rarely found in Scotand


Warbler,_Olive-tree   Hippolais olivetorum Found: southeast Europe, southwest Asia, Africa
The Olive-tree Wabler has brownish-gray upperparts;  whitish underparts. Found in olive groves and other open canopy trees.

Image by: 1, 2) Derek_Keats - South Africa   3) Johann du Preez - Zambia 



Warbler,_Upcher's  Hippolais languida  Found: semi-desert parts of Europe (Turkey), Asia, Africa

The Upcher's Warbler has gray upperparts; whitish underparts; light supercilium; frequent tail movements
Image by: 1) Wayne Hodgkison - Qatar  2) Sjahanmi - United Arabs Emirates  3) Peter Steward - Kenya



Genus Iduna
The Tree Warblers

Warbler,_African Yellow Iduna natalensis  Found: Africa
Image by: 1) Ha,,er1962  2) Francesco Veronesi - South Africa 3) Alan Manson - South Arica 


Warbler,_Booted   Iduna caligata  Found: Asia
The Booted Warbler has pale brown upperparts; whitish underparts; buff flanks; short pale supercilium.
Similar to: Syke's Warbler. The Booted Warbler and Syke's have non overlapping ranges during the breeding season. During breeding season, Syke's Warbler ranges from northeast Arabia to Afghanistan; Booted Warbler ranges from central Russia to western China.
Image by: 1) Adel Hilal  2) Sergey Yeliseev- Russia


Warbler,_Eastern Olivaceous  Iduna pallida Found: Europe, Africa
The Eastern Olivaceous Warbler has brown upperparts; whitish underparts; gray legs.
Similar to: Western Olivaceous Warbler. Western Olivaceous Warbler has browner tinge to upperparts than Eastern Olivaceous Warbler. It is also larger and has a larger bill. Western Olivaceous Warbler breeds in Iberia and north Africa; Eastern Olivaceous Warbler breeds in southeast Europe and Middle East.
Image by: 1) Jan Svetlek  2) Michael Sveikutis  3) Ron Knight


Warbler,_Syke's Iduna rama Found: Asia
The Syke's Warbler has pale brown upperparts; whitish underparts; buff flanks; short pale supercilium.
Similar to: Booted Warbler. The Booted Warbler and Syke's have non overlapping ranges during the breeding season. During breeding season, Syke's Warbler ranges from northeast Arabia to Afghanistan; Booted Warbler ranges from central Russia to western China.
Image by: 1, 2) Sergey Yeliseev - Kazakhstan  3) JM Garg - India


Warbler,_Thick-billed  Iduna aedon also Phragmaticola aedon Found: Asia
The Thick-billed Warbler has brown upperparts;  buff underparts; short pointed bill.
Image by: 1) Haller1962  2) Vivekpuliyeri  3) Arnob Bora


Warbler,_Western Olivaceous  Iduna opaca Found: Europe, Africa
The Western Olivaceous Warbler has brown upperparts; whitish underparts; gray legs.
Similar to: Eastern Olivaceous Warbler. Western Olivaceous Warbler has browner tinge to upperparts than Eastern Olivaceous Warbler. It is also larger and has a larger bill. Western Olivaceous Warbler breeds in Iberia and north Africa; Eastern Olivaceous Warbler breeds in southeast Europe and Middle East.
Image by: 1) Ron Knight 2) Ana Palomar et. al.



Genus Nesillas

Warbler,_Anjouan_Brush-  Nesillas longicaudata  Found: Comoros and Mayotte
Image by: 1) Paul_van_Giersbergen - Moya, Anjouan of the Comoros islands


Warbler,_Grand_Comoro_Brush-  Nesillas brevicaudata  Found: Comoros and Mayotte
Image by: 1) Paul_van_Giersbergen - Heathland of Mount Karthala, Grand Comore


Warbler,_Moheli_Brush-  Nesillas mariae  Found: Comoros
Image by: 1) Pete_Morris


Warbler,_Madagascar Brush-  Nesillas typica  Found: Comoros, Madagascar
Image by: 1) John Gerrard Keulemans  2) Kristian Svensson


Warbler,_Subdesert Brush-  Nesillas lantzii  Found: Madagascar
Image by: 1) Amy McAndrews 2) Louise Jasper







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