Large-billed Reed Warbler
Acrocephalus orinus
Poorly known, small gray-brown bird with a large bill, a flat forehead, and a short, pale supercilium. Extremely similar to Blyth’s Reed Warbler, but the Large-billed Reed Warbler has a longer bill, longer legs, and slightly shorter wings. Breeds in damp scrubland at high altitudes. Migratory range and habitats are unclear. Song said to be faster, more complex than that of the Blyth’s Reed Warbler.
Identification
This species has the upper plumage and visible portions of wings and tail olive-brown while the underside is pale creamy with the underwing and axillaries paler.<p>The length is about 5 in (130 mm) with the tail being 2.3 in (58 mm) and the wing 2.4 in (61 mm) long. The tarsus is 0.85 in (22 mm) while the bill from gape is 0.8 in (20 mm). The first primary measures 0.35 in (8.9 mm) while the second is intermediate in length between the ninth and tenth. The closed tail appears graduated with the difference between the longest and shortest feathers being 0.4 in (10 mm). The type specimen was obtained in the Sutlej valley ("Sukedje valley") not far from Rampur.<p>The upper mandible is dark, but the cutting edges and entire lower mandible are pale. The tarsi, toes and claws appear pale brown. The hind claw is longer than in A. dumetorum. The tips of the tail feathers are pointed and more acutely lanceolate than in A. dumetorum or A. concinens. The primary tips are broad and rather squarer. Recent observers note that it has a habit of fanning out its tail open as it forages.<p>The specimens from Afghanistan and Kazakhstan suggest that they breed in Central Asia and moult indicates that they migrate along the Himalayas to winter in northern India and Southeast Asia. Sequence variation points to a stable or shrinking population structure.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Acrocephalus orinus
- Authority
- Oberholser, 1905
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Acrocephalidae
- Genus
- Acrocephalus
Range and habitat
- Breeding range
- OR : ne Afghanistan (Timmins et al. 2009)
- Non-breeding range
- n India and sc Thailand
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Conservation
- Population trend
- unknown
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Myrmia micrura
Tiny hummingbird with a very short tail found in arid scrub and desert in western Ecuador and northwestern Peru. Male has glittering violet “beard” that is bordered by white above and below. Female lacks throat patch and has a buffy tinge to underparts, faint facial stripes, and a white tip to the tail. Female is told from other similar species in range by very short tail that does not reach wingtips when perched and white tip of tail (not white edges or corners).
Black Goshawk
Astur melanoleucus
Large black-and-white goshawk. Most individuals have a white breast, but some have almost completely black underparts. Immatures have dark streaks below, over a white or rusty base color. Found in forest, woodland, thick savanna, and plantations. Calls are a long wail and an agitated scolding series. Dark-breasted birds similar to dark-morph Gabar Goshawk and Ovambo Sparrowhawk but are larger and have yellow legs and base of the bill. Somewhat similar to hawk-eagles, but much longer-tailed and faster in flight.
Spot-tailed Nightjar
Antiurus maculicaudus
Small nightjar of savanna and grassland with scattered bushes and palmettos. Spends the day roosting cryptically on the ground, but at night may be found beside quiet roads and tracks. Like all nightjars, eyes reflect amber-red in lights. Plumage similar to other nightjars, but note the pale buffy eyebrow, buffy V-shaped stripe on the back, and bold wing spotting. Male has small white tail tip, lacking in female. White spots on male’s tail usually only visible in the hand. Song is high and insectlike, unlikely to draw attention.
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