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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The great reed warbler is a Eurasian bird in the passerine genus Acrocephalus.
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.
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.
The Cape Verde warbler is an Old World warbler in the genus Acrocephalus. It is also known as the Cape Verde cane warbler or Cape Verde swamp warbler, and in Creole as tchota-de-cana or chincherote. It breeds on Santiago, Fogo, and São Nicolau in the Cape Verde Islands. It previously bred on Brava. This species is found in well-vegetated valleys, avoiding drier areas. It nests in reedbeds, two to three eggs being laid in a suspended nest.
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.
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.
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.
The black-browed reed warbler is a marsh-warbler in the family Acrocephalidae. It was formerly included in the "Old World warbler" assemblage. The species was first described by Robert Swinhoe in 1860.
The Cook reed warbler or Cook Islands reed warbler, is a species of Old World warbler in the family Acrocephalidae. It is native to the southeastern Cook Islands. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, swamps, and rural gardens. It is threatened by habitat loss.
The Rimatara reed warbler is a species of Old World warbler in the family Acrocephalidae. It is found only in Rimatara in French Polynesia. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and swamps. Due to its limited geographic distribution, this bird is classified as critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.
The Manchurian reed warbler, also known as the Manchurian reed-warbler, is a species of marsh-warbler. It was formerly included in the "Old World warbler" assemblage, and was usually treated as a subspecies of the paddyfield warbler. It is found in Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Laos, Russia, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and possibly Myanmar. Its natural habitat is swamps. It is threatened by habitat loss.
The Benguet bush warbler, also known as the Benguet grasshopper-warbler, is a songbird species. Formerly placed in the "Old World warbler" assemblage, it is now placed in the newly recognized family Locustellidae. L. seebohmi was formerly known as russet bush warbler, but that name is now restricted to L. mandelli, formerly included in L. seebohmi as a subspecies but now considered a separate species. It is found in the mountains of northern Luzon in the Philippines.
The little grassbird is a species of Old World warbler in the family Locustellidae. It is found in Australia and in West Papua, Indonesia. These sexually monomorphic birds are found in reed beds, rushes, lignum swamps and salt marshes of Southeastern Australia.
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.
