Acrocephalus arundinaceus
The Great Reed Warbler, a vocal icon of European and Asian wetlands, is the largest of the 'marsh warbler' group within the genus Acrocephalus. Measuring 16-20 cm in length with a wingspan of 25-30 cm and weighing 20-35 grams, this robust passerine is identifiable by its plain olive-brown upperparts, off-white underparts, and a distinct pale supercilium contrasting with a dark eye-stripe. Its most striking feature is its powerful, often harsh, rattling song, which is disproportionately loud f...
Exclusively found in dense reedbeds (Phragmites australis) and other tall aquatic vegetation, typically bordering lakes, ponds, rivers, and marshes. Occupies low to moderate elevations.
Primarily insectivorous, feeding on a wide variety of insects such as dragonflies, damselflies, flies, beetles, moths (and their larvae), and spiders. They forage by gleaning insects from reed stems and leaves, often making short aerial sallies.
Great Reed Warblers are highly territorial and primarily diurnal, spending their days actively foraging and singing from high perches within their reedbed territories, though they can be crepuscular. Males arrive first on breeding grounds, establishing territories with their loud, repetitive song...
The Great Reed Warbler boasts an expansive breeding range across the Palearctic, stretching from Western Europe (including France, Spain, and the UK) eastward across Central and Eastern Europe, through Russia, Kazakhstan, and much of Central Asia, reaching into parts of Mongolia and Northwest Chi...
Least Concern
- Despite its name, the 'Great' in Great Reed Warbler refers to its size relative to other reed warblers, not to a superlative quality. - Its song is one of the loudest among Palearctic passerines, capable of being heard over long distances across vast reedbeds. - Males are often polygynous, some...