SEDGE WARBLER

ACROCEPHALUS SCHOENOBAENUS

Fig 1

DESCRIPTION: Wingspan up to 19cm. Adult length up to 13cm. A plump tough looking warbler with a distinct creamy yellow eye stripe above the keen, alert eye. The plumage is olive brown (richer above) and heavily streaked with darker brown especially along the back. The underparts are whitish tinged with buff and the tail is brown with a hint of chestnut. BEHAVIOUR: A skulking bird but when in the mood to sing it stands out and just goes for it. The call of this species a repetitive metallic mixture of rasping, scraping and chattering. Highly distinctive when learned. Song flights are had with a quick aerial sortie and a return to the original perch usually had. Male Sedge Warblers are often more faithful to their nest sites than females. NEST/EGGS: The nest is deep within vegetation on or close to the ground. It is cup-shaped and constructed from vegetation, spiders webs and lined with animal hair and down. The eggs are greenish-yellow with brown mottling and are laid in clutches of up to 5. The young hatch after 14 days. DISTRIBUTION: Common throughout wherever habitat is found. HABITAT: Reedbeds and nearby scrubby areas. PERIOD: Summer visitor best seen from April to October. It winters in Africa.