Bird watching/ birding in Sweden - Eurasian Reed Warbler or Reed Warbler / Rörsångare

Eurasian Reed Warbler or Reed Warbler, Acrocephalus scirpaceus, Rörsångare

The Eurasian reed warbler, or just reed warbler (Acrocephalus scirpaceus), called Rörsångare in Skåne , is an Old World warbler in the genus Acrocephalus. It breeds across Europe into temperate western Asia. It is migratory, wintering in sub-Saharan Africa.

Habitat and population density
This small passerine bird is a species found almost exclusively in reed beds, usually with some bushes. Direct counts of territorial males in suitable habitat and sampling the population sex-ratio can be a proper alternative to inference-rich predictive modeling based on imperfect habitat-extrapolation of densities of reed warblers at large spatial scales.

3) Frías, O.; Bautista, L. M.; Dénes, F. V.; Cuevas, J. A.; Martínez, F.; Blanco, G. (2018). "Influence of habitat suitability and sex-related detectability on density and population size estimates of habitat-specialist warblers". PLoS ONE. 13: 020148. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0201482.

4) Bibby, C. J.; Thomas, D. K. (1985). "Breeding and diets of the reed warbler at a rich and a poor site". Bird Study. 32: 19–31.

5) Parcuellos, M. (1997). "Comparative analysis between the passerine communities of great reed beds (Arundo donax) and reed beds (Phragmites australis) in southeastern Iberia". Ardeola. 44: 105–108.

6) Prokešová, J.; Kocian, L. (2004). "Habitat selection of two Acrocephalus warblers breeding in reed beds near Malacky (Western Slovakia)" (PDF). Biologia Bratislava. 59: 637–644.

7) Stokke, B. G.; Hafstad, I.; Rudolfsen, G.; Bargain, B.; Beier, J.; Campas, D. B.; Dyrcz, A.; Honza, M.; Leisler, B.; Pap, P. L.; Patapavicius, R.; Prochazka, P.; Schulze-Hagen, K.; Thomas, R.; Moksness, A.; Møller, A. P.; Roskaft, E.; Soler, M. (2007). "Host density predicts presence of cuckoo parasitism in reed warblers". Oikos. 116: 913–922.

Range map from www.oiseaux.net - Ornithological Portal Oiseaux.net

www.oiseaux.net is one of those MUST visit pages if you're in to bird watching. You can find just about everything there

Etymology
The genus name Acrocephalus is from Ancient Greek akros, "highest", and kephale, "head". It is possible that Naumann and Naumann thought akros meant "sharp-pointed". The specific scirpaceus is from Latin and means "reed".

Description
This is a medium-sized warbler, 12.5–14 cm in length. The adult has an unstreaked brown back and buff underparts. The forehead is flattened, and the bill is strong and pointed. The sexes are identical, as with most warblers, but young birds are richer buff below. The Eurasian reed warbler looks similar to the great reed warbler, but the great reed warbler is larger in size and has a stronger supercilium.

Length:

12,5 - 14 cm

Wingspan:

19 cm

Weight:

15 g

Longevity:

12 Years

Distinctive Feature

•

Similar Species

•

From opus at www.birdforum.net the forum for wild birds and birding.

Song
The song is a slow, chattering jit-jit-jit with typically acrocephaline whistles and mimicry added.

Listen to the Eurasian Reed Warbler

Sound from www.xeno-canto.org

Sound from www.xeno-canto.org

Food
Like most warblers, it is insectivorous, but will take other small food items, including berries.

Nesting
The 3–5 eggs are laid in a basket nest in reeds. The chicks fledge after 10 or 11 days. This species is usually monogamous. The Eurasian reed warbler is one of the species that are brood parasitised by the common cuckoo.

Placement of nest

By Internet Archive Book Images -
https://www.flickr.com/photos/internetarchivebookimages/14746972441/Source book page:
https://archive.org/stream/historyofbritish01yarre/historyofbritish01yarre#page/n396/mode/1up, No restrictions,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=43422259

Reed warbler eggs

By Didier Descouens - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=29429668

Conservation status

Least concern (IUCN 3.1)

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.2.
International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 28 August 2014.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia