Gray's Grasshopper Warbler
Helopsaltes fasciolatus
An odd, thrush-like warbler; extremely shy and seldom seen as it lurks about in dense undergrowth. The largest grasshopper-warbler, with a distinctly robust appearance. Matte brown with pale brow, throat, and belly. Complete lack of streaking distinguishes this species from Middendorff’s and Pallas’s grasshopper-warblers; white throat and pale brow distinguish Gray’s from the much browner Pleske’s Warbler. Slightly warmer-colored Sakhalin Grasshopper-Warbler is extremely similar but has a whiter throat, a thicker brow, and more extensive brown on the underside.
Identification
This is the largest of all the Locustella warblers, approaching the size of the great reed warbler. The adult has an unstreaked olive-brown back, uniformly grey breast and buff underparts, with unmottled dull orange undertail coverts.<p>The song is a short phrase, loud and distinctive; nothing like the insect-like reeling of European Locustella species, and more musical than that of Pallas's grasshopper warbler.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Helopsaltes fasciolatus
- Authority
- (Gray, GR, 1861)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Locustellidae
- Genus
- Helopsaltes
Range and habitat
This small passerine bird breeds in southern Siberia, northeastern China and Korea. It is migratory, wintering in southeast Asia. It is a species found in lowland and coastal regions, nesting in forests or thickets.
- Breeding range
- PAL : s Russia and n Mongolia to se Russia, ne China, the Korean Pen. and n Japan
- Non-breeding range
- Indonesian Arch. and w New Guinea
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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