Thick-billed Warbler
Arundinax aedon
Bulbul-sized large warbler with a long tail, a stubby bill, and a plain face. Breeds in East Asia; winters in South and Southeast Asia. Structurally similar to Clamorous Reed Warbler but has a shorter, blunter bill, no eye-stripe or brow, different vocalizations, and no particular preference for water. Rather skulky, it keeps to dense grasses, forest edge, and shrubbery. Song is long and complex, consisting of short bursts of high piercing notes, harsh snappy chattering, and mellow warbles. Calls include a hard, fast, continuous arrhythmic “thk…thk, thk, thk” emanating but from the undergrowth.
Identification
The thick-billed warbler (Arundinax aedon) breeds in the temperate east Palearctic, from south Siberia to west Mongolia. It is migratory, wintering in tropical South Asia and South-east Asia. It is a very rare vagrant to western Europe. This passerine bird is a species found in dense vegetation such as reeds, bushes and thick undergrowth. Five or six eggs are laid in a nest in a low tree. This is a large warbler, at 16–17.5 cm (6.3–6.9 in) long, which is nearly as big as the great reed warbler. The adult has an unstreaked brown back and buff underparts, with few obvious distinctive plumage features. The forehead is rounded, and the bill is short and pointed. The sexes are identical, as with most warblers, but young birds are richer buff below. Like most warblers, it is insectivorous, but will take other small prey items. The song is fast and loud, and similar to the marsh warbler, with much mimicry and typically acrocephaline whistles added. It was sometimes placed in the monotypic genus Phragmaticola (or Phragamaticola) and for a long time as Acrocephalus and in 2009 suggested as being within the Iduna clade. However, a 2014 phylogeny study based on more loci indicated that it did not fit into the Iduna clade, and therefore suggested a resurrection of the genus Phragamaticola or Arundinax; the latter, being the older available genus name, has priority. The genus Arundinax is from Latin arundo, arundinis meaning "reed" and Ancient Greek anax which means "master". The specific aedon is from Ancient Greek aedon and means nightingale. In Greek mythology, Queen Aëdon was changed into a nightingale after killing her own son Itylus while attempting to murder one of the sons of her sister-in-law Niobe.
Taxonomy
Genus: Arundinax; Family: Acrocephalidae; Order: Passeriformes.
- Scientific name
- Arundinax aedon
- Authority
- (Pallas, 1776)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Acrocephalidae
- Genus
- Arundinax
Range and habitat
Breeding range: PAL : nc, ne. Non-breeding range: se Asia.
- Breeding range
- PAL : nc, ne
- Non-breeding range
- se Asia
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Behavior
Migration pattern: Complete migrants.
Conservation
Population trend: declining.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Beautiful Woodpecker
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Medium-sized woodpecker endemic to northern Colombia. Strikingly patterned: black above and buffy below with bright red crown, yellow nape, black mask, barred flanks, and a white stripe down the back. Found in dry woodlands and edges, usually in pairs. Compare with Black-cheeked Woodpecker, which lacks a yellow nape and has white spots on the wings.
Moussier's Redstart
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Small redstart. Male is unmistakable with an orange throat and underparts, a bold white head stripe from the forehead down to the neck sides, and a big white wing patch. Female is plain brown above and rich rusty below, with a thin white eyering. Breeds on wooded mountain slopes, plantations, gardens, and scrub. Descends to lower elevation habitats such as deserts and plains in the winter. Song is a jumble of pleasant, high-pitched whistles and buzzes. Call is a high-pitched clear whistle combined with a buzzing note, "Pi, pi, pi, zzzzzzzzz…"
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