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Sedge Warbler (Acrocephalus schoenobaenus) German name(s): "Schilfrohrsänger" Size: 11.5-13 cm; wing span: 17-21 cm Weight: 8-19 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 Sedge Warblers are very small warblers. Their cap is brown with heavy dark-grey streaking. The neck and ear coverts are brown, lightly streaked with grey, while the mantle and back are darker grey-brown with darker grey streaks. The wings are dark-grey with grey-brown edge lining. The front is grey with a buff tinge on the breast. Their most characteristic feature is a conspicuous broad, buff to off-white supercilium that widens towards the back of the head. The irises are brown. The bill has a grey upper mandible and a horn-coloured lower mandible. The legs and feet are grey. Juveniles have some brown streaking inside the buff breast patch.

Taxonomy, classification See Sedge 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, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Sedge Warbler is available HERE . Sedge Warblers are a migratory Eurasian species. They breed in Europe, parts of Asia Minor and as far to the East as the south-western coastline of the Caspian Sea. At the end of the breeding season they migrate southward via the entire Mediterranean and the Middle East, to spend the northern winters in sub-Saharan Africa, mostly in East Africa. In Europe, including the British Isles, anywhere northward of the latitude of the Balkans, the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, Sedge Warblers are found as breeding migrants. They are not found in the highlands of central Scandinavia, but do go farther North, also on the Eurasian mainland. As their name already suggests, Sedge Warblers have a preference for wetlands with tall growth, but they will also nest in dense shrubs up to 500 m away from water. Also in their wintering grounds they tend to stay in tall growth in or around wetlands.

Sightings Click here for sighting information D. Wilczynska reports spotting Sedge Warblers regularly during the breeding season in various parts of Poland, e.g. in Biebrza National Park, along the river Bug, near Brok, Masovia, and along the river Bug near Malkinia, Masovia. A Sedge Warbler was caught, ringed and photographed by S. Cuturilov in Ovcarsko-Kablarski Canyon, near Cacak, Serbia, in October 2017. Another underwent the same procedure at Vlasina Lake, Serbia, in October 2019. M. Eaton reports spotting a Sedge Warbler near Tromso airport, Tromso, Norway, in June 2018. J. Pires found a Sedge Warbler in the Tejo estuary, Portugal, in August 2019, and another in June 2020. G. Normand reports finding Sedge Warbler near Saint Omer, between Lille and Boulogne-sur-Mer, and near Nieppe, Hauts-de-France, France, in June 2020.

Photos

ADULT

Sex unknown

Full-frontal view of a Sedge Warbler (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[River Bug, near Brok, Masovia, Poland, June 2016]

Close-up near-frontal view of a male Sedge Warbler marking its territory (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Near Tromso airport, Tromso, Norway, in June 2018]

Near-frontal view of a Sedge Warbler (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[River Bug, near Brok, Masovia, Poland, June 2016]

Near-lateral view of a Sedge Warbler on its vantage point (photo courtesy of Beata from Warsaw)
[Biebrza NP, Poland, May 2016]

Near-lateral view of a Sedge Warbler (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Biebrza NP, Poland, May 2016]

Lateral view of a Sedge Warbler; this is the bird whose calls were recorded on 24 June 2019
(photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[River Bug, near Malkinia, Masovia, Poland, June 2019]

Lateral view of a Sedge Warbler issuing its call (photo courtesy of G. Normand)
[Near Saint Omer, between Lille and Boulogne-sur-Mer, Hauts-de-France, France, June 2020]

Lateral view of a Sedge Warbler (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Near Tromso airport, Tromso, Norway, in June 2018]

Lateral view of a Sedge Warbler (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Biebrza NP, Poland, May 2016]

Lateral view of a Sedge Warbler (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, August 2019]

Close-up lateral view of a Sedge Warbler (photo courtesy of S. Cuturilov)
[Vlasina Lake, Serbia, October 2019]

Lateral view of a Sedge Warbler calling from the top of a shrub; this is the bird whose calls were recorded on 9 May 2016 (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Biebrza NP, Poland, May 2016]

Lateral view of a Sedge Warbler issuing its call (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Biebrza NP, Poland, May 2017]

Dorsal view of a Sedge Warbler; note the characteristic light edges around the tail (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[River Bug, near Brok, Masovia, Poland, June 2016]

Dorsal view of a Sedge Warbler (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, August 2019]

PAIR

Pair of Sedge Warblers (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[River Bug, near Brok, Masovia, Poland, June 2016]

Behaviour

Sedge Warbler in its favourite habitat (photo courtesy of G. Normand)
[Near Nieppe, Hauts-de-France, France, June 2020]

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.

More Sedge 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.

Disclaimer: Comments are always welcome. We give no guarantee that the information presented on these pages is always correct or up-to-date. External links are marked as such and we take no responsibility for the contents of external pages. All images on this site are protected by copyright & used by permission of the respective owners. If you wish to reproduce them or any of the material presented on this web site, please contact us: We hereby acknowledge the original custodians of the land which is described on these pages, including the Gomeroi/Gamilaraay people of the North-west Slopes and Plains of NSW, and the traditional owners of other lands and nations within this country. We acknowledge elders past, present and emerging. Sovereignty was never ceded.          Last updated: Sat, 5 February 2022, 22:37 +00:00