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26

Great Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus arundinaceus) German name(s): "Drosselrohrsänger" Size: 16-21 cm; wingspan: 25-30 cm Weight: 22-38 g

Europe: Family Group 26 Family Group 26 Table Crested Lark Thekla's Lark Zitting Cisticola Great Reed Warbler Eurasian Reed Warbler Sedge Warbler Marsh Warbler Savi's Warbler Icterine Warbler Melodious Warbler Cetti's Warbler Redwing Fieldfare Mistle Thrush Song Thrush Ring Ouzel Common Blackbird Common Starling Spotless Starling Thumbnails page Family group table Index of bird names European birds home page

Similar species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Great Reed Warblers are the largest European warblers. They have an off-white throat and otherwise creamy front. The cap, ear coverts and back are brown to greyish-brown, with darker grey-brown flight feathers and tail than the rest. Their most distinguishing feature is that they have prominent creamy supercilia extending from the base of the bill to well behind the eyes. The eyes have brown irises. The relatively long bill is visibly stronger than that of other, similar species. It is almost straight, with a dark-grey upper mandible, while the lower mandible is horn-coloured, with a dark-grey tip. The legs and feet are dark-grey.

Taxonomy, classification See Great Reed Warbler at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed based on sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to the ebird.org website. The global distribution of the Great Reed Warbler is available HERE . Great Reed Warblers are a migratory Eurasian species. They breed throughout most of temperate Europe, up to about 55 degrees latitude, and eastward into western and southern central Asia. They winter in sub-Saharan Africa. During their migration they can be found in the eastern Mediterranean, Asia Minor, the Middle East and North Africa. In Europe they are found only during their breeding season, basically everywhere southward of the North Sea and southern Scandinavia, except the major mountain ranges. In areas within that range where they don't breed (mostly regions in western Europe where no suitable wetland habitats are left) they can be found during their migration. Great Reed Warblers have a preference for wetlands with tall reeds during their breeding season. In their wintering grounds and during migration they are also found in bush thickets and rice fields.

Sightings Click here for sighting information S. Cuturilov reports spotting a Great Reed Warbler near Temerin, Serbia, in July 2017. J. Pires reports finding Great Reed Warblers occasionally in the area from Mora, Evora, Portugal, to the Tejo estuary. The species was also found along the Rio Tejo, Portas de Rodao, Centro de Portugal, Portugal, in May 2018. D. Wilczynska found a Great Reed Warbler at Lomza, Podlachia, Poland, in May 2020.

Photos

ADULT

Sex unknown

Near-lateral view of a singing Great Reed Warbler (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, April 2019]

Near-lateral view of a Great Reed Warbler; this is the bird whose calls were recorded on 16 May 2020
(photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Lomza, Podlachia, Poland, May 2020]

Near-lateral view of a singing Great Reed Warbler (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, April 2019]

Lateral view of a singing Great Reed Warbler (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, April 2019]

Lateral view of a singing Great Reed Warbler (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, April 2019]

Lateral view of a Great Reed Warbler (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, May 2018]

Near-dorsal view of a Great Reed Warbler - note the long primary projection; this is the bird whose calls were recorded on 16 May 2020 (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Lomza, Podlachia, Poland, May 2020]

Near-dorsal view of a Great Reed Warbler (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, May 2019]

Distant dorsal view of a Great Reed Warbler (photo courtesy of S. Cuturilov)
[Near Temerin, Serbia, July 2017]

Overview of a Great Reed Warbler in its habitat (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, May 2018]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Frontal view of a juvenile Great Reed Warbler (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, May 2018]

Near-lateral view of a juvenile Great Reed Warbler (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, May 2018]

Call(s)/Song

For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The interpretation of their meaning is our own; comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

gtrwarb_dw_20200516.m4a	(Poland)	Territorial calls(?)	© DW
gtrwarb_jp_20180702.m4a	(Portugal)	Territorial call(?)	© JP
gtrwarb_jp_20190416.m4a	(Portugal)	Territorial calls(?)	© JP
gtrwarb_jp_20190527.m4a	(Portugal)	Territorial calls(?)	© JP
gtrwarb_jp_20180523.m4a	(Portugal)	Territorial calls(?)	© JP
gtrwarb_jp_20200428.m4a	(Portugal)	Territorial calls(?)	© JP
gtrwarb_jp_20200422.m4a	(Portugal)	Territorial calls(?) (+ Common Blackbird)	© JP
gtrwarb_jp_20180702_2.m4a	(Portugal)	Warning calls(?)	© JP
gtrwarb_jp_20180427.m4a	(Portugal)	?	© JP

More Great Reed Warbler sound recordings are available at xeno-canto.org .

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

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