Bird Guide

Common Grasshopper Warbler vs Savi's Warbler

Common Grasshopper Warbler (Locustella naevia)

Common Grasshopper Warbler

Locustella naevia

Tiny13 gShrubland

The adult is about 12.5 cm (5 in) long, and weighs 11.5–16 grams (0.41–0.56 oz). It is a secretive bird and can be hard to see, but its presence is easily detected because of its characteristic song. The upper-parts are pale olive-brown, each feather having a central darker brown streak. The cheeks are greyish, the irises are brown and there is a faint eye streak behind the eye. The upper mandible of the beak is dark brown and the lower mandible yellowish-brown. The underparts are cream-coloured or yellowish-buff with a few dark brown spots and streaks on the breast and flanks.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Recording: Noé Ferrari · CC BY 4.0
Photo: (c) Demian Hiß, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY
Savi's Warbler (Locustella luscinioides)

Savi's Warbler

Locustella luscinioides

Tiny14 gWetland

The upper-parts of Savi's warbler are a uniform dark reddish-brown, sometimes with a slight greenish tinge. It has indistinct buff eye-stripes, dark lores and pale brown ear-coverts. The brown beak is slender and the irises are also brown. The chin, throat and belly are whitish-buff and the rest of the underparts sandy brown. In the breeding season, both upper-parts and underparts are slightly paler. The legs are brown. The bird is around 14 cm (5.5 in) long. The song is a trill very similar to that of the grasshopper warbler but slightly lower pitched and less prolonged.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Recording: Sonothèque ADVL · CC0
Photo: Ron Knight from Seaford, East Sussex, United Kingdom · CC BY 2.0

Where you might meet both

And 27 more countries.

Learn this pair in BeakBrain

Photo and call practice, free in any browser.

Play BeakBrain

Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Common Grasshopper Warbler and Savi's Warbler.