Sedge warbler

Last updated

Sedge warbler
Sedge warbler (Acrocephalus schoenobaenus) 3.jpg
Otmoor RSPB reserve
The song of a male sedge warbler
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Acrocephalidae
Genus: Acrocephalus
Species:
A. schoenobaenus
Binomial name
Acrocephalus schoenobaenus
AcrocephalusSchoenobaenusIUCN.svg
Distribution map
  Breeding
  Passage
  Non-breeding
Synonyms

Motacilla schoenobaenusLinnaeus, 1758

The sedge warbler (Acrocephalus schoenobaenus) 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.

Contents

Taxonomy

The sedge warbler was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Motacilla schoenobaenus. [2] The species is now placed in the genus Acrocephalus that was introduced in 1811 by Johann Andreas Naumann and his son Johann Friedrich Naumann. [3] British ornithologists did not distinguish the species from the Eurasian reed warbler until the 18th century. [4] The genus name Acrocephalus is from Ancient Greek akros, "highest", and kephale, "head". It is possible that the Naumanns thought akros meant "sharp-pointed". The specific schoenobaenus is from Ancient Greek skhoinos, "reed", and baino, "to tread". It is a translation of the old Swedish name for the bird, Sävstigare. [5] The species is considered to be monotypic: no subspecies are recognised. [3]

Description

This is a medium-sized warbler, 11.5–13 cm (4.5–5.1 in) long and weighing around 12 g (0.42 oz). [6] It 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, the crown is streaked with black, and the bill is strong and pointed. There is a prominent whitish supercilium. The legs are greyish. [7]

The plumage of the sexes is identical, although they can be told apart when caught for ringing by the presence of a brood patch or cloacal protuberance. [8] Juvenile birds have dark spots on the breast. They can be easier to confuse with aquatic warblers due to an apparent pale central crown stripe contrasting with the darker edges. [7] Other similar species include moustached warblers and Pallas's grasshopper warblers. [9] The oldest recorded sedge warbler was a bird ringed in Finland which reached the age of 10 years, 1 month. The typical lifespan is 2 years. [6]

The song is varied, rushed and chattering, with sweeter phrases and some mimicry, [7] [9] typical of the Acrocephalus warblers. It is composed of phrases in random order, so that it is never the same. Male sedge warblers which have the widest repertoire mate with the largest number of females. [6]

Distribution and habitat

The sedge warbler has a large range and an estimated Global Extent of Occurrence of 10 million square kilometres, with a large global population including between 8.8 million and 15 million birds in Europe. Data analysis by the British Trust for Ornithology has shown that fluctuations in the sedge warbler population stem from the adult survival rate, due to changes in rainfall on the birds' wintering grounds. [10] Global changes in population have not been measured, but the sedge warbler's status is designated 'of least concern' by BirdLife International. [11]

Sedge warbler in its habitat: a reedbed. Uitkerke, Belgium. Acrocephalus schoenobaenus (in habitat).jpg
Sedge warbler in its habitat: a reedbed. Uitkerke, Belgium.

It breeds across Europe and western and central Asia and is migratory. After feeding up post-breeding, they migrate quickly across southern Europe and the Sahara from August to September. Studies in Nigeria and Uganda suggest that sedge warblers return to spend winter at the same sites, year after year. [12]

All sedge warblers spend winter in sub-Saharan Africa, from Senegal in the west to Ethiopia in the east, and as far south as the eastern Cape Province of South Africa and northern Namibia. The routes taken on the southward migration, and their eventual wintering grounds, correspond to the birds' breeding grounds. Birds ringed in the United Kingdom and Netherlands are later found from south-west Iberia to Italy; birds from Sweden are recovered in central Europe and Italy; while Finnish birds are found in north-east Italy and Malta east to the Aegean region. Sedge warblers from the former Soviet Union take routes via the eastern Mediterranean Sea and Middle East. [7]

Loss of wetland areas for feeding on migration, and the expansion of the Sahara Desert, pose threats to the sedge warbler's breeding population. [12] Birds begin leaving Africa in late February, fatten up at wetlands before and probably after crossing the Sahara, and arrive in Europe from March onwards. [7]

Unlike other members of the Acrocephalus genus, the sedge warbler's range stretches from the Arctic to mid-latitudes. It is adapted to cool, cloudy and moist conditions. Though it is often found in wetlands, it can breed 500 metres (1,600 ft) or more away from water. [7] During the breeding season, this is a species found in reedbeds, often with scrub, ditches and habitats away from water including hedgerows, patches of stinging nettles, and arable crops. [13] On the African wintering grounds, habitats such as reeds at wetlands, papyrus, grass, sedge and reedmace and tall elephant grass are used. It can be found at altitudes of 1,800–2,400 metres (5,900–7,900 ft) above sea level in Ethiopia. [7]

Behaviour

Breeding

Male sedge warblers commence singing only a few hours after arriving on their breeding territory. The song is given from a bare perch such as a reed stem or bush, or from cover and during routine flights within their territory. Song-flights are also performed: while singing, the bird takes off, rises to a height of around 2–5 metres (6.6–16.4 ft) and then after a short circling flight, makes a slow, 'parachuting' descent, often with the wings held up in a 'v' shape. The song has the function of attracting a mate, rather than keeping other males away, and is stopped as soon as a mate is found. [14] Contact calls are described as chirr or kerr; and these calls are repeated quickly to form a rattling alarm call. [7]

Studies have found that early-arriving males occupy the best breeding territories. [15] A study in Nottinghamshire, England, showed that a third of males which returned bred within 50 m or less of their previous breeding site, and only 14% bred further than 400 m (1,300 ft) away. [12] Another study conducted in the Nida River valley in Poland showed that individual males tend to show the biggest shifts in territory location in the first two seasons of life (up to >400 m). This seems to be caused by an increasing early arrival on the breeding grounds in the first years. Hence, they find more potential territories left unoccupied by conspecifics upon arrival, causing them to shift to better quality ones. [15]

Pairs are usually social monogamous, but not strictly so. [16] Males commonly practice promiscuity, and part of the males settle a new territory and resume territorial behavior whilst the female incubates the first clutch. When successfully pairing with another female the male will usually take part in rearing both broods. [17] [18]

Egg, Collection Museum Wiesbaden Acrocephalus schoenobaenus MWNH 1684.JPG
Egg, Collection Museum Wiesbaden

If eggs or chicks are predated, the female will often leave the male, who then resumes singing and pairs with another female. [7] Hybridisation with the Eurasian reed warbler has been recorded. [7]

The male defends a territory of around 0.1 to 0.2 hectares; in a study at Zaanstad, Netherlands, 68 territories were studied, with an average size of 1064 metres square one year, and 904 m sq the next.[ citation needed ] The nest, built by the female, is in vegetation on the ground or up to a height of 50 cm (20 in). The cup-shaped structure has an outer layer of grass, stems and leaves, plus spiders' webs, with a thick, finer layer inside including reed flowers, animal hair and plant down. It is woven around vertical plant stems. From 3 to 5 greenish-yellow and brown-mottled [19] eggs are laid, measuring 18 x 13 mm and weighing 1.6 g each. They are incubated by the female for 14 days; the chicks are altricial and naked. [6] Both male and female care for the chicks, which fledge after 13–14 days. After leaving the nest, young sedge warblers continue begging for food from their parents for 1 to 2 weeks after learning to fly. [7]

Food and feeding

Sedge warbler carrying grubs Sedge warbler (Acrocephalus schoenobaenus) 5.jpg
Sedge warbler carrying grubs

Prey taken by sedge warblers includes mayflies, dragonflies and damselflies, grasshoppers, bugs, lacewings, moths, beetles and flies. Vegetable material includes elderberries and blackberries. On their wintering grounds food includes non-biting midges and flowers and berries from the toothbrush tree.

In late July, prior to migration, it appears that sedge warblers seek out sites with large numbers of plum-reed aphids and stay there longer than at other places; ringing studies show that birds may move considerable distances (e.g. from southern England to northern France) in search of food before beginning their actual migration. In Portugal, the aphid supply dries up too early for sedge warblers to utilise it, so many birds do not stop off there and are already heavy with fat when they pass through. Birds with the heaviest fat reserves built up before migration are capable of non-stop flights from Africa to southern Britain, or from Uganda to Iraq, for example. Some double their normal weight when 'fuelling' for migration. Lighter birds are forced to make the journey in several shorter parts.

Sedge warblers feed in low, thick vegetation, especially reeds and rushes, but also in arable fields and around bushes. A study at Attenborough, Nottinghamshire in England, found that the habitats used for foraging during the breeding season were 47% marshland, mostly Glyceria grasses, 26% shrub, 21% field vegetation and 6% woodland. Feeding techniques include 'picking' insects from vegetation while perched or sometimes hovering, and 'leap-catching', when the bird grabs flying insects as it flies between perches. Sedge warblers tend to hop between plant stems and pick insects from underneath leaves; they take advantage of the low temperatures around dusk and dawn which make their prey less mobile. [7]

Related Research Articles

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

The cuckoo, common cuckoo, European cuckoo or Eurasian cuckoo is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, Cuculiformes, which includes the roadrunners, the anis and the coucals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Water rail</span> Species of bird

The water rail is a bird of the rail family which breeds in well-vegetated wetlands across Europe, Asia and North Africa. Northern and eastern populations are migratory, but this species is a permanent resident in the warmer parts of its breeding range. The adult is 23–28 cm (9–11 in) long, and, like other rails, has a body that is flattened laterally, allowing it easier passage through the reed beds it inhabits. It has mainly brown upperparts and blue-grey underparts, black barring on the flanks, long toes, a short tail and a long reddish bill. Immature birds are generally similar in appearance to the adults, but the blue-grey in the plumage is replaced by buff. The downy chicks are black, as with all rails. The former subspecies R. indicus, has distinctive markings and a call that is very different from the pig-like squeal of the western races, and is now usually split as a separate species, the brown-cheeked rail.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eurasian blackcap</span> Bird in the Old World warbler family from Eurasia and Africa

The Eurasian blackcap, usually known simply as the blackcap, is a common and widespread typical warbler. It has mainly olive-grey upperparts and pale grey underparts, and differences across the five subspecies are small. Both sexes have a neat coloured cap to the head, black in the male and reddish-brown in the female. The male's typical song is a rich musical warbling, often ending in a loud high-pitched crescendo, but a simpler song is given in some isolated areas, such as valleys in the Alps. The blackcap's closest relative is the garden warbler, which looks quite different but has a similar song.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Garden warbler</span> A small migratory passerine bird

The garden warbler is a common and widespread small bird that breeds in most of Europe and in the Palearctic to western Siberia. It is a plain, long-winged and long-tailed typical warbler with brown upperparts and dull white underparts; the sexes are similar and juveniles resemble the adults. Its two subspecies differ only slightly and interbreed where their ranges overlap. Due to its lack of distinguishing features, this species can be confused with a number of other unstreaked warblers. The garden warbler's rich melodic song is similar to that of the blackcap, its closest relative, which competes with it for territory when nesting in the same woodland.

<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.

<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">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">Blyth's reed warbler</span> Species of bird

Blyth's reed warbler 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, although it has been increasing and spreading there and bred the Netherlands in 2022 and in Scotland in 2024.

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

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

<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">Ruff (bird)</span> Species of bird

The ruff is a medium-sized wading bird that breeds in marshes and wet meadows across northern Eurasia. This highly gregarious sandpiper is migratory and sometimes forms huge flocks in its winter grounds, which include southern and western Europe, Africa, southern Asia and Australia.

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

The magnolia warbler is a member of the wood warbler family Parulidae.

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

The sedge wren is a small and secretive passerine bird in the family Troglodytidae. It is widely distributed in North America. It is often found in wet grasslands and meadows where it nests in the tall grasses and sedges and feeds on insects. The sedge wren was formerly considered as conspecific with the non-migratory grass wren of central and South America.

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

The Australian reed warbler is an Old World warbler in the genus Acrocephalus and is the only Acrocephalus species native to Australia. It has also been observed in Papua New Guinea and nearby islands. The name Acrocephalus refers to the peaked crown found on reed warblers in this genus and can be translated to mean "topmost head" in Greek. The species name australis is translated to mean "southern" in Latin, and refers to the species range, Australia. In its western range the Australian reed warbler is also known as "Koordjikotji" in the local Aboriginal language of Perth and its surrounds.

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

The Seychelles warbler, also known as Seychelles brush warbler, is a small songbird found on five granitic and corraline islands in the Seychelles. It is a greenish-brown bird with long legs and a long slender bill. It is primarily found in forested areas on the islands. The Seychelles warbler is a rarity in that it exhibits cooperative breeding, or alloparenting, which means that the monogamous pair is assisted by nonbreeding female helpers.

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

The lesser swamp warbler or Cape reed warbler is an Old World warbler in the genus Acrocephalus. It is a resident breeder in Africa from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Chad and Ethiopia south to South Africa. This is a common species of reedbeds in standing water.

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

The speckled reed warbler or streaked reed warbler is an Old World warbler in the family Acrocephalidae. The species was first described by Robert Swinhoe in 1863.

References

  1. BirdLife International (2016). "Acrocephalus schoenobaenus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T22714700A87569807. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22714700A87569807.en . Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  2. Linnaeus, Carl (1758). Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis (in Latin). Vol. 1 (10th ed.). Holmiae (Stockholm): Laurentii Salvii. p. 180.
  3. 1 2 Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (2020). "Bushtits, leaf warblers, reed warblers". IOC World Bird List Version 10.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  4. Cocker, Mark; Mabey, Richard (2005). Birds Britannica. London: Chatto & Windus. pp. 365–367. ISBN   978-0-7011-6907-7.
  5. Jobling, James A (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. pp.  30, 350. ISBN   978-1-4081-2501-4.
  6. 1 2 3 4 R. A. Robinson. "Sedge Warbler". BirdFacts. British Trust for Ornithology . Retrieved 1 January 2009.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 BWPi: The Birds of the Western Palearctic on interactive DVD-ROM. London: BirdGuides Ltd. and Oxford University Press. 2004. ISBN   978-1-898110-39-2.
  8. Svensson, Lars (1992). Identification Guide to European Passerines. Stockholm: Lars Svensson. p. 166. ISBN   978-91-630-1118-4.
  9. 1 2 Mullarney, Killian; Svensson, Lars; Zetterstrom, Dan; Grant, Peter (1999). Collins Bird Guide. London: HarperCollins. p. 290. ISBN   978-0-00-219728-1.
  10. "Sedge Warbler". Breeding Birds of the Wider Countryside. British Trust for Ornithology. Archived from the original on 19 February 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2009.
  11. "Sedge Warbler Acrocephalus schoenobaenus". Datazone. BirdLife International . Retrieved 1 January 2009.
  12. 1 2 3 Wernham, C. V.; Toms, M. P.; Marchant, J. H.; Clark, J. A.; Siriwardena, G. M.; Baillie, S. R., eds. (2002). The Migration Atlas: movements of the birds of Britain and Ireland. London, UK: T. & A.D. Poyser. pp. 544–547. ISBN   978-0-7136-6514-7.
  13. Tucker, Graham M.; Heath, Melanie F. (1995). Birds in Europe: Their Conservation Status. BirdLife Conservation Series. Vol. 3. Cambridge: BirdLife International. p. 455. ISBN   978-0-946888-29-0.
  14. Buchanan, Katherine L.; Catchpole, Clive K. (22 April 1997). "Female choice in the sedge warbler Acrocephalus schoenobaenus multiple cues from song and territory quality". Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences. 264 (1381): 521–526. Bibcode:1997RSPSB.264..521B. doi:10.1098/rspb.1997.0074. PMC   1688389 .
  15. 1 2 Zając, T.; Bielański, W.; Solarz, W. (2011). "Territory choice during the breeding tenure of male sedge warblers". Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. 65 (12): 2305–2317. doi:10.1007/s00265-011-1241-z. PMC   3214270 . PMID   22162903.
  16. Leisler, B.; Wink, M. (2000). "Frequencies of multiple paternity in three Acrocephalus species (Aves: Sylviidae) with different mating systems (A. palustris, A. arundinaceus, A. paludicola)" (PDF). Ethology, Ecology & Evolution. 12 (3): 237–249. Bibcode:2000EtEcE..12..237L. doi:10.1080/08927014.2000.9522798. S2CID   84661011.
  17. Hasselquist, Dennis; Langefors, Åsa (26 April 2010). "Variable social mating system in the Sedge Warbler, Acrocephalus schoenobaenus". Ethology. 104 (9): 759–769. doi:10.1111/j.1439-0310.1998.tb00109.x. ISSN   0179-1613.
  18. Zając, Tadeusz; Bielański, Wojciech; Solarz, Wojciech (5 September 2007). "On the song resumption, polyterritorial behaviour and their population context in the Sedge Warbler Acrocephalus schoenobaenus". Journal of Ornithology. 149 (1): 49–57. doi:10.1007/s10336-007-0211-8. S2CID   2248222.
  19. Vere Benson, S. (1966). The Observer's Book of Birds. London: Frederick Warne & Co. Ltd. p. 71.