Blyth's reed warbler

Last updated

Blyth's reed warbler
Blyth's Reed Warbler I2 IMG 9417.jpg
At New Alipore in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Acrocephalidae
Genus: Acrocephalus
Species:
A. dumetorum
Binomial name
Acrocephalus dumetorum
Blyth, 1849
AcrocephalusDumetorumIUCN.svg
Range of A. dumetorum
  Breeding
  Non-breeding

Blyth's reed warbler (Acrocephalus dumetorum) is an Old World warbler in the genus Acrocephalus . It breeds in the Palearctic and easternmost Europe. It is migratory, wintering in Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka. It is one of the most common winter warblers in those countries. It is a rare vagrant to western Europe.

Contents

Etymology

This bird is named after the British zoologist Edward Blyth. The genus name Acrocephalus is from Ancient Greek akros, "highest", and kephale, "head". It is possible that Naumann and Naumann thought akros meant "sharp-pointed". The specific dumetorum is from Latin dumetum, "thicket". [2]

Description

This small passerine bird is a species found in scrub or clearings, often near water, but it is not found in marshes. 4-6 eggs are laid in a nest in a bush.

At New Alipore in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Blyth's Reed Warbler Im- Kolkata IMG 9405.jpg
At New Alipore in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.

This is a medium-sized warbler, 12.5-14 cm in length. The adult has a plain brown back and pale underparts. It can easily be confused with the reed warbler, the marsh warbler and some of the Hippolais warblers. It is most like the reed warbler but is greyer on the back, the forehead is less flattened and the bill is less strong and pointed. The sexes are identical, as with most warblers, but young birds are yellower below.

Habitat

The habitat of Blyth's reed warbler is different from the reedbeds favoured by the reed warbler or the rank vegetation of the marsh warbler: this species chooses trees or bushes as songposts. Like most warblers, it is insectivorous, but will take other small food items, including berries.

In the breeding season, the best identification feature is the song, which is slow and repetitive, with much mimicry of other birds, punctuated with scales and typically acrocephaline whistles.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pallas's grasshopper warbler</span> Species of bird

Pallas's grasshopper warbler, also known as the rusty-rumped warbler, is an Old World warbler in the grass warbler genus Helopsaltes. It breeds in the eastern Palearctic: from the Altai Mountains, Mongolia and Transbaikalia to northeastern China, the Korean Peninsula, and islands in the Sea of Okhotsk. It is migratory, wintering from India eastward to Indonesia. It is a rare migrant in Sri Lanka.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Savi's warbler</span> Species of bird

Savi's warbler is a species of Old World warbler in the grass warbler genus Locustella. It breeds in Europe and the western Palearctic. It is migratory, wintering in northern and sub-Saharan Africa.

<i>Acrocephalus</i> (bird) Genus of birds

The Acrocephalus warblers are small, insectivorous passerine birds belonging to the genus Acrocephalus. Formerly in the paraphyletic Old World warbler assemblage, they are now separated as the namesake of the marsh and tree warbler family Acrocephalidae. They are sometimes called marsh warblers or reed warblers, but this invites confusion with marsh warbler and reed warbler proper, especially in North America, where it is common to use lower case for bird species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Common reed warbler</span> Species of bird

The common reed warbler is an Old World warbler in the genus Acrocephalus. It breeds across Europe into the temperate western Palaearctic where it is migratory, wintering in sub-Saharan Africa. It is also a resident species over large parts of Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sedge warbler</span> Species of bird

The sedge warbler is an Old World warbler in the genus Acrocephalus. It is a medium-sized warbler with a brown, streaked back and wings and a distinct pale supercilium. Sedge warblers are migratory, crossing the Sahara to get from their European and Asian breeding grounds to spend winter in Africa. The male's song is composed of random chattering phrases and can include mimicry of other species. The sedge warbler is mostly insectivorous.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aquatic warbler</span> Species of bird

The aquatic warbler is an Old World warbler in the genus Acrocephalus. It breeds in temperate eastern Europe and western Asia, with an estimated population of 11,000-15,000 pairs. It is migratory, wintering in west Africa. After many years of uncertainty, the wintering grounds of much of the European population were finally discovered in Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary, Senegal, with between 5,000 and 10,000 birds present at this single site. Its south-westerly migration route means that it is regular on passage as far west as Great Britain and Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marsh warbler</span> Species of bird

The marsh warbler is an Old World warbler currently classified in the family Acrocephalidae. It breeds in temperate Europe and the western Palearctic and winters mainly in southeast Africa. It is notable for incorporating striking imitations of a wide variety of other birds into its song.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great reed warbler</span> Eurasian bird

The great reed warbler is a Eurasian in the passerine genus Acrocephalus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thick-billed warbler</span> Species of bird

The thick-billed warbler breeds in the temperate east Palearctic, from south Siberia to west Mongolia. It is migratory, wintering in tropical South Asia and South-east Asia. It is a very rare vagrant to western Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paddyfield warbler</span> Species of bird

The paddyfield warbler is a species of marsh warbler. It was formerly included in the "Old World warbler" assemblage. The Manchurian reed warbler was included in A. agricola as a subspecies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moustached warbler</span> Species of bird

The moustached warbler is an Old World warbler in the genus Acrocephalus. It breeds in southern Europe and southern temperate Asia with a few breeding in north-west Africa. It is partially migratory. South-west European birds are resident, south-east European birds winter in the Mediterranean breeding range, and the Asiatic race migrates to Arabia, India and Pakistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dusky warbler</span> Species of bird

The dusky warbler is a leaf warbler which breeds in the east Palearctic. The genus name Phylloscopus is from Ancient Greek phullon, "leaf", and skopos, "seeker". The specific fuscatus is from Latin fuscus "dark".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melodious warbler</span> Species of bird

The melodious warbler is an Old World warbler in the tree warbler genus Hippolais. It breeds in southwest Europe and northwest Africa. It is migratory, wintering in sub-Saharan Africa. This small passerine bird is a species found in open woodland with bushes. Three to five eggs are laid in a nest in a tree or a bush. This is a common bird in many parts of its wide range and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern olivaceous warbler</span> Species of bird

The eastern olivaceous warbler is a small passerine bird with drab plumage tones, that is native to the Old World. For the most part it breeds in southeastern Europe, the Middle East and adjacent western Asia, and winters in the northern Afrotropics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clamorous reed warbler</span> Species of bird

The clamorous reed warbler is an Old World warbler in the genus Acrocephalus. It breeds from Egypt eastwards through Pakistan, Afghanistan and northernmost India to south China and southeast Asia. A. s. meridionalis is an endemic race in Sri Lanka.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Basra reed warbler</span> Species of bird

The Basra reed warbler is a "warbler" of the genus Acrocephalus. It is an endemic breeder in Southwestern Iran, East and southern Iraq, Kuwait, and Israel in extensive beds of papyrus and reeds. It is easily mistaken for the great reed warbler but is a bit smaller, has whiter underparts and has a narrower, longer and more pointed bill. It winters in East Africa. It is a very rare vagrant in Europe. The call is a gruff chaar, deeper than a reed warbler's.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Large-billed reed warbler</span> Species of bird

The large-billed reed warbler is an Old World warbler in the genus Acrocephalus. The species has been dubbed as "the world's least known bird". It was known from a single specimen collected in India in 1867 and rediscovered in the wild in Thailand in 2006. The identity of the bird caught in Thailand was established by matching DNA sequences extracted from feathers; the bird was released. After the rediscovery in the wild a second specimen was discovered amid Acrocephalus dumetorum specimens in the collections of the Natural History Museum at Tring. A breeding area was found in Afghanistan in 2009 and studies in 2011 pointed to its breeding in Kazakhstan and Tajikistan. One bird was found in the Baikka Wetland in Srimangal, Bangladesh on 7 December 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Acrocephalidae</span> Family of birds

The Acrocephalidae are a family of oscine passerine birds, in the superfamily Sylvioidea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oriental reed warbler</span> Species of bird

The Oriental reed warbler is a passerine bird of eastern Asia belonging to the reed warbler genus Acrocephalus. It was formerly classified as a subspecies of the great reed warbler of the western Palearctic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nauru reed warbler</span> Passerine bird endemic to the Pacific island of Nauru

The Nauru reed warbler is a passerine bird endemic to the island of Nauru in the Pacific Ocean. It is one of only two native breeding land-birds on Nauru and it is the only passerine found on the island. It is related to other Micronesian reed warblers, all of which evolved from one of several radiations of the genus across the Pacific. Related warblers on nearby islands include the Caroline reed warbler, with which the Nauru species was initially confused, and the nightingale reed warbler, which was formerly sometimes considered the same species.

References

  1. BirdLife International (2017). "Acrocephalus dumetorum". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2017: e.T22714736A111098258. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-1.RLTS.T22714736A111098258.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. Jobling, James A (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. pp.  30, 142. ISBN   978-1-4081-2501-4.

Further reading

Identification