African sedge-warbler

Product Description

African sedge-warbler

The African Reed Warbler is a plain smallish bird with a somewhat flattened forehead, 13 cm long and weighing around 11 gm. Its upperparts are rich brown, and it has a weak white supercilium and a . The underparts are white, with a rufous wash to the flanks. The strong pointed bill has a slightly downcurved upper mandible; it is dull yellow with a yellower base. The legs are black and the eyes are brown. The sexes are similar in appearance, but the juvenile has a rufous rump.

The song is a slow, chattering jit-jit-jit with typically acrocephaline whistles and mimicry added. It is indistinguishable from Reed Warbler except for the species that are mimicked.

This species can only be safely distinguished from the Reed Warbler in the hand. However, that species is usually found in much wetter habitats, and is rare or absent from much of southern Africa.

In southern Africa, the main confusion species is the migrant Marsh Warbler Acrocephalus palustris, and distinguishing these two species is not easy. Marsh Warbler is larger, colder brown above, is longer-winged, and has a flatter head profile. It is also found in drier habitats and intersperses more musical phrases in its song.

Sample sound

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