The lesser swamp warbler is a plain-coloured smallish bird 14–16 cm long and weighing around 20 g. Its upperparts are rich brown, and it has a white supercilium. The underparts are white, with a rufous wash to the flanks. The long, strong bill has a slightly down-curved upper mandible; it is blackish-yellow with a yellower base. The legs are blue-grey and the eyes are brown. Adults of both sexes and juvenile birds are very similar in appearance.
The song is rich and melodious, a series of bubbly phrases that include trilling notes, cheerup chee trrreee and a large number of variations, with pauses between phrases.
Behaviouredit
The lesser swamp warbler builds a deep, firm cup nest from strips of reed blades, grass and sedges, which is lined with finer grasses. It is always placed in reeds above water. It nests mainly from August to December, with the earliest nesters being those in the winter rainfall areas of the Western Cape Province. It lays two or three brown eggs. This species is monogamous, pairing for life.
The lesser swamp warbler is usually seen alone or in pairs, moving through wetland reedbeds, and clambering up and down reed stems. It eats insects and other small invertebrates.
Conservation statusedit
This common species has a large range, with an estimated extent of 5,700,000 km2. The population size is believed to be large, and the species is not believed to approach the thresholds for the population decline criterion of the IUCN Red List (i.e. declining more than 30% in ten years or three generations). For these reasons, the species is evaluated as Least Concern.[1]
Subspeciesedit
Acrocephalus gracilirostris includes the following subspecies:[2]
A. g. neglectus - (Alexander, 1908)
A. g. tsanae - (Bannerman, 1937)
A. g. jacksoni - (Neumann, 1901)
A. g. parvus - (Fischer, GA & Reichenow, 1884)
A. g. leptorhynchus - (Reichenow, 1879)
A. g. winterbottomi - (White, CMN, 1947)
A. g. cunenensis - (Hartert, 1903)
A. g. gracilirostris - (Hartlaub, 1864)
Galleryedit
A. gracilirostris on perch in bulrush
A. gracilirostris scratching itself while preening
Referencesedit
^ abBirdLife International (2016). "Acrocephalus gracilirostris". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22714859A94430765. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22714859A94430765.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
^Gill F, D Donsker & P Rasmussen (Eds). 2020. IOC World Bird List (v10.2). doi : 10.14344/IOC.ML.10.2.
Ian Sinclair, Phil Hockey and Warwick Tarboton, SASOL Birds of Southern Africa (Struik 2002) ISBN1-86872-721-1
Birds of Southern Africa
External linksedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Acrocephalus gracilirostris.
Wikispecies has information related to Acrocephalus gracilirostris.
Lesser swamp warbler - Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds.
December 07, 2023
lesser, swamp, warbler, lesser, swamp, warbler, cape, reed, warbler, acrocephalus, gracilirostris, world, warbler, genus, acrocephalus, resident, breeder, africa, from, democratic, republic, congo, chad, ethiopia, south, south, africa, this, common, species, r. The lesser swamp warbler or Cape reed warbler Acrocephalus gracilirostris is an Old World warbler in the genus Acrocephalus It is a resident breeder in Africa from the Democratic Republic of the Congo the Chad and Ethiopia south to South Africa This is a common species of reedbeds in standing water Lesser swamp warblerAt Marievale GautengConservation statusLeast Concern IUCN 3 1 1 Scientific classificationDomain EukaryotaKingdom AnimaliaPhylum ChordataClass AvesOrder PasseriformesFamily AcrocephalidaeGenus AcrocephalusSpecies A gracilirostrisBinomial nameAcrocephalus gracilirostris Hartlaub 1864 Contents 1 Description 2 Behaviour 3 Conservation status 4 Subspecies 5 Gallery 6 References 7 External linksDescription editThe lesser swamp warbler is a plain coloured smallish bird 14 16 cm long and weighing around 20 g Its upperparts are rich brown and it has a white supercilium The underparts are white with a rufous wash to the flanks The long strong bill has a slightly down curved upper mandible it is blackish yellow with a yellower base The legs are blue grey and the eyes are brown Adults of both sexes and juvenile birds are very similar in appearance The song is rich and melodious a series of bubbly phrases that include trilling notes cheerup chee trrreee and a large number of variations with pauses between phrases Behaviour editThe lesser swamp warbler builds a deep firm cup nest from strips of reed blades grass and sedges which is lined with finer grasses It is always placed in reeds above water It nests mainly from August to December with the earliest nesters being those in the winter rainfall areas of the Western Cape Province It lays two or three brown eggs This species is monogamous pairing for life The lesser swamp warbler is usually seen alone or in pairs moving through wetland reedbeds and clambering up and down reed stems It eats insects and other small invertebrates Conservation status editThis common species has a large range with an estimated extent of 5 700 000 km2 The population size is believed to be large and the species is not believed to approach the thresholds for the population decline criterion of the IUCN Red List i e declining more than 30 in ten years or three generations For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern 1 Subspecies editAcrocephalus gracilirostris includes the following subspecies 2 A g neglectus Alexander 1908 A g tsanae Bannerman 1937 A g jacksoni Neumann 1901 A g parvus Fischer GA amp Reichenow 1884 A g leptorhynchus Reichenow 1879 A g winterbottomi White CMN 1947 A g cunenensis Hartert 1903 A g gracilirostris Hartlaub 1864 Gallery edit nbsp A gracilirostris on perch in bulrush nbsp A gracilirostris scratching itself while preeningReferences edit a b BirdLife International 2016 Acrocephalus gracilirostris IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016 e T22714859A94430765 doi 10 2305 IUCN UK 2016 3 RLTS T22714859A94430765 en Retrieved 12 November 2021 Gill F D Donsker amp P Rasmussen Eds 2020 IOC World Bird List v10 2 doi 10 14344 IOC ML 10 2 Ian Sinclair Phil Hockey and Warwick Tarboton SASOL Birds of Southern Africa Struik 2002 ISBN 1 86872 721 1 SASOL e guide Birds of Southern AfricaExternal links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Acrocephalus gracilirostris nbsp Wikispecies has information related to Acrocephalus gracilirostris Lesser swamp warbler Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Lesser swamp warbler amp oldid 1186974764, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
