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PLATE 87: ACROCEPHALUS WARBLERS II, AND LOCUSTELLA WARBLERS
Blyth’s Reed Warbler Acrocephalus dumetorum V
L: 12.5. Similar to Eurasian Reed and Marsh Warblers. Identified by combination of shorter, more
rounded wings and short primary projection with six primary-tips visible (7–8 visible in Eurasian
Reed and Marsh Warblers), uniform upperparts with little or no rump contrast, plainer tertials,
near-concolorous alula, short supercilium, which often bulges in front of eye, and dark grey bill
with flesh-coloured base to lower mandible. Sometimes shows flicking and fanning movements of
tail. Voice Song musical and highly imitative; slower, more hesitant than Marsh Warbler; often has
high-pitched lo-ly-lia and utters tjeck-tjeck between phrases. Contact call a soft thik or chck. Habitat
Bushy vegetation. Note Passage hatched; vagrant Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia.Eurasian Reed Warbler Acrocephalus scirpaceus PM, wv
L: 13. Subspecies fuscus (Caspian Reed Warbler) occurs. Very similar to Marsh Warbler, with
similarly long wing-projection but less obviously pale edges to tertials, with longer bill and darker
legs; greyer, less rufous above and whiter below, thus even more similar to Blyth’s Reed and Marsh
Warblers. Voice Monotonous and fairly even-pitched mixture of scratchy, grating and churring
notes; resembles song of Sedge Warbler but slower and lacks the changes in pitch and tempo.
Calls short tchk or hard, rolling chrrrur. Habitat Reedbeds and waterside vegetation. Note Passage
hatched.Marsh Warbler Acrocephalus palustris PM
L: 13. Difficult to identify; brown above with slight olive tinge and slightly warmer rump; creamy-
buff below with slightly buffier flanks; short buffish white supercilium and pale eye-ring. Like all
Acrocephalus has a rounded tail, long undertail-coverts and rather sloping forehead. Marsh Warbler
best told in spring by the pale-fringed dark tertials and long primary projection, eight primaries
showing, each with pale-fringed tip. Also buffier, less warm, than Caspian Reed (although juvenile
Marsh rustier and thus extremely similar), with paler legs and shorter bill, but latter hard to judge.
Voice Loud, musical and full of mimicry; in fast tempo. Calls short chek and distinctive short buzzy
terrrr. Habitat Any cover on passage. Note Passage hatched.Common Grasshopper Warbler Locustella naevia pm
L: 12.5. Small, rather dark, skulking warbler with obviously rounded tail when flushed, often from
underfoot. Flies to cover, in short, low, jerky flight. Upperparts olive-brown, heavily streaked
(but appearing obscure in flight) with faint supercilium; underparts dirty white or yellowish with
streaking on rear flanks and undertail-coverts, sometimes diffusely streaked on breast, juveniles
especially. Voice Migrants typically silent. Sings, often at night, a dry reeling (likened to reel on
fishing rod), longer, more sibilant than Savi’s Warbler; infrequently gives a short chik call. Habitat
Thick moist vegetation, dense bushes, thickets near streams, reedbeds; on passage, also grassland,
herbaceous cover. Note Passage hatched, but scarce or overlooked.River Warbler Locustella fluviatilis V
L: 13. Secretive olive-brown warbler, with unstreaked upperparts, diffusely streaked breast and
long undertail-coverts with brownish feathers tipped white. Confusable with Savi’s Warbler but is
darker and greyer, being colder, darker olive-brown above, with much more obvious darker spotting
on breast (diffuse in Savi’s); generally keeps low in vegetation, but will walk on ground with slightly
cocked tail. Voice Migrants silent in region. Habitat Thick cover, usually near water; grasslands on
passage. Note Passage hatched but rare; vagrant Bahrain, Iraq, Oman, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Yemen.Savi’s Warbler Locustella luscinioides pm, wv
L: 14. A large Locustella. Plumage warmer brown than River Warbler; eastern subspecies fusca,
which occurs in region, has grey cast above, but diffusely marked on breast; also has the long
undertail-coverts tipped pale, only less distinctly so than in River Warbler. Often on ground, walking
slowly and stealthily with horizontal stance and jerky movements, the graduated tail raised; often
bobs tail (a character shown by all Locustella warblers). Voice Song, uttered from reed stem or bush,
by day or night, a monotonous, fast reeling. Call (at intruder or in alarm) also distinctive, a loud,
hard, twinky pitch repeated 2–3 times. Habitat Reedbeds, swamps, fields, scrub and rank grass.
Note Passage hatched.