Great Reed Warbler

Acrocephalus arundinaceus

Least Concern · IUCN Red List

LCLeast ConcernInvertebratesWetlandCup nestSmall · 30 g

What the Great Reed Warbler sounds like

Sonogram of the Great Reed Warbler: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.
Recorded by Sonothèque ADVL · Song · Arrondissement of Avranches (near Genêts), Manche, Normandy, France · CC0 · via xeno-canto
Sonogram of the Great Reed Warbler: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.
Recorded by Sonothèque ADVL · Song · Arrondissement of Avranches (near Pontorson), Manche, Normandy, France · CC0 · via xeno-canto
Sonogram of the Great Reed Warbler: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.
Recorded by Camille Vacher · Song · Arrondissement de Toulon (near La Garde), Var, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France · CC BY 4.0 · via xeno-canto

ID tip

The thrush-sized warbler is one of the largest species in both its current the family Acrocephalidae, and its former family, the "Sylviidae". It measures 16–21 cm (6.3–8.3 in) in length, 25 to 30 cm (9.8 to 11.8 in) in wingspan and weighs 22 to 38 g (0.78 to 1.34 oz). The adult has unstreaked brown upperparts and dull buffish-white chin and underparts. The forehead is flattened, and the bill is strong and pointed. It looks very much like a giant common reed warbler (Acrocephalus scirpaceus), but with a stronger supercilium.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to see the Great Reed Warbler

One bar for each month. Filled bars are the 5 months with records; pale bars are months with none. The wide bar is May, the month with the most records.

Where to see the Great Reed Warbler

Regular rangeRare visitor

The map shades 97 countries with regular records, and 7 more in a lighter tone where the bird turns up only as a stray. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.

Recorded as a rare visitor in Gabon, São Tomé & Príncipe, India, Yemen, Libya, Sudan, Ireland.

About the Great Reed Warbler

The great reed warbler is an insectivorous bird in the family Acrocephalidae. It is a medium-sized passerine bird and the largest of the warblers. It breeds throughout mainland Europe and the Western Palearctic and migrates to sub-Saharan Africa in the winter. It favours reed beds during the breeding season, while living in reed beds, bush thickets, rice fields, and forest clearings during the winter. It exhibits relatively low sexual dimorphism, and the sexes are similar in appearance. This species mates both polygynously and monogamously.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Easily confused with

Side by side: Great Reed Warbler vs Marsh Warbler · Blyth's Reed Warbler vs Great Reed Warbler · Australian Reed Warbler vs Great Reed Warbler · Clamorous Reed Warbler vs Great Reed Warbler

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