Marsh warbler
Marsh warbler | |
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In Poland | |
Recorded in Worcestershire, England | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Passeriformes |
Family: | Acrocephalidae |
Genus: | Acrocephalus |
Species: | A. palustris
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Binomial name | |
Acrocephalus palustris (Bechstein, 1798)
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Breeding
Passage
Nonbreeding
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The marsh warbler (Acrocephalus palustris) is an
The marsh warbler breeds in a variety of mostly damp habitats, but in Africa winters mainly in dry, well-vegetated areas. It is common over much of its breeding range and expanding its distribution in some areas. However, in Britain it is now virtually extinct as a breeding bird,
Taxonomy
The marsh warbler was formally described in 1798 by the German naturalist Johann Matthäus Bechstein under the scientific name Motacilla s. Sylvia palustris.[3] The
Description
This is a medium-sized warbler. It is very similar in appearance to several other
The marsh warbler is best known for the highly imitative song uttered by males, and very occasionally by females. Each male marsh warbler incorporates imitations of a wide range of other birds into its song. Other
Distribution and habitat
The marsh warbler breeds in the middle latitudes of Europe and western Asia, from the English Channel to about 70 degrees east. It mainly occupies areas with a continental climate, but breeds, or has bred, in Britain and northern France as well. It is principally a bird of the lowlands, but occurs at altitudes of up to 3000m in Georgia. In recent decades it has expanded its range to the north, with increasing numbers of birds breeding in Scandinavia and north-west Russia.[7] Singing males are occasionally heard in Ireland, most recently in 2017.
In western Europe the marsh warbler breeds mainly in rank vegetation on damp or seasonally flooded soils, and is particularly attracted to tall herbaceous vegetation such as
The marsh warbler winters mainly in south-east Africa, from Cape Province north to Zambia and Malawi. It makes use of a range of well-vegetated habitats, from moist scrub to dense thickets and woodland edge, at altitudes up to 2400m.[7] Marsh warblers tend to migrate from Europe to Africa via the Middle East, with many crossing Arabia and arriving in Africa on Sudan's Red Sea coast. Adults usually leave their breeding grounds soon after their young are independent, with their offspring following about two weeks later. On the Red Sea coast most birds arrive from mid-August to mid-September, with numbers of adults peaking in August and of young birds in September. Birds tend to spend much of the autumn somewhere in north-east or east Africa, before continuing south to arrive on their wintering grounds in December or January.[7]
In spring, marsh warblers leave their wintering grounds in March or April. They are thought to follow broadly similar routes to their autumn migration. Birds breeding in south-east Europe, for instance on the Black Sea coast, may arrive there by late April. In other parts of their range, the majority of birds do not arrive until mid-May. On the western and northern edge of their range, such as in England, birds do not tend to arrive until the end of May or early June.[7]
As a vagrant, the species has been recorded as far away as Iceland and Madeira.[7]
Behaviour
Breeding
The species is usually
Food and feeding
The marsh warbler is mostly insectivorous, but also takes some spiders and small numbers of snails. It generally gleans insects from vegetation but sometimes catches them on the ground or in mid-air. In autumn small numbers of berries may be eaten. There have been no detailed studies of the bird's diet in Africa, though foraging techniques during winter are known to be very similar to those in other seasons.[7]
Conservation
Globally, the population is believed to be increasing, and the
In Britain the species was never widespread, and disappeared from many areas from the 1930s onwards.
References
- . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
- ^ British Trust for Ornithology, BirdFacts: Marsh Warbler accessed 21 February 2010.
- ^ Latham, John; Bechstein, Johann Matthäus (1798). Johann Lathams allgemeine Uebersicht der Vögel (in German). Vol. 3, Part 2. Nürnberg: A.C. Schneider and Weigel. p. 545.
- ^ Mayr, Ernst; Cottrell, G. William, eds. (1986). Check-list of Birds of the World. Vol. 11. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 64.
- ^ Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (January 2022). "Bushtits, leaf warblers, reed warblers". IOC World Bird List Version 12.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
- ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Birds of the Western Palearctic interactive (DVD-Rom). Oxford University Press and BirdGuides. 2006.
- .
- .
- ^ IUCN, Red List: Acrocephalus palustris accessed 21 February 2010.
- ^ Robin Spencer and the Rare Breeding Birds Panel Report for 1990 accessed 13 June 2020.
- ^ Malcolm Ogilvie and the Rare Breeding Birds Panel Report for 1999 accessed 13 June 2020.
- ^ J. T. R. Sharrock and the Rare Breeding Birds Panel Report for 1978 accessed 13 June 2020.
- ^ Holling, Mark; and the Rare Breeding Birds Panel (2010). "Rare breeding birds in the United Kingdom in 2007" (PDF). British Birds. 103 (1): 2–52 [45–46].
- ^ Biodiversity Action Plan for Acrocephalus palustris (Marsh warbler) accessed 21 February 2010.
Further reading
- Vinicombe, Keith (2005) ID in depth: Marsh Warbler Birdwatch155:30-32