Basra Reed Warbler
Acrocephalus griseldis
Medium-sized Acrocephalus warbler with cold gray-olive-brown plumage and whitish underparts. Note the long and slender bill and the short eyebrow that reaches just behind the eye. Distinctly larger than Eurasian Reed Warbler and smaller than Great Reed Warbler. Range limited, breeding only in extensive reedbeds along the lower Tigris and Euphrates rivers in Iraq, and adjacent southwest Iran. Non-breeding habitat includes a broader range of wet, vegetated habitats. Call is a harsh "charr." Song is rather quiet and slow, mixed with deep, bulbul-like notes.
Identification
The Basra reed warbler (Acrocephalus griseldis) is a "warbler" of the genus Acrocephalus. It is a near-endemic breeder in the Tigris–Euphrates river system in southwestern Iran, eastern and southern Iraq, and Kuwait, though it has also recently colonised wetlands in Israel. It breeds in extensive beds of papyrus and reeds. It is easily mistaken for the great reed warbler but is a bit smaller, has whiter underparts and has a narrower, longer and more pointed bill. It is migratory, wintering in East Africa. It is a very rare vagrant in Europe. The call is a gruff chaar, deeper than that of a common reed warbler. It is found in aquatic vegetation in or around shallow, fresh or brackish water, still or flowing, mainly in dense reedbeds. It is found in thickets and bushland when migrating or wintering. In 2007, the species was discovered as a breeding bird in northern Israel. Due to the drainage of the Mesopotamian marshes throughout the 1980s and the 1990s, and the subsequent near destruction of its native habitat, the Basra reed warbler is considered an endangered species.
Taxonomy
Genus: Acrocephalus; Family: Acrocephalidae; Order: Passeriformes.
- Scientific name
- Acrocephalus griseldis
- Authority
- (Hartlaub, 1891)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Acrocephalidae
- Genus
- Acrocephalus
Range and habitat
Breeding range: PAL : s Iraq. Non-breeding range: e AF.
- Breeding range
- PAL : s Iraq
- Non-breeding range
- e AF
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Behavior
Migration pattern: Complete migrants.
Conservation
Population trend: stable.
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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