Acrocephalus
Encyclopedia
The Acrocephalus warblers are small, insectivorous passerine
bird
s belonging to the genus Acrocephalus. Formerly in the paraphyletic Old World warbler
assemblage, they are now separated as the namesake of the marsh- and tree-warbler family Acrocephalidae
. They are sometimes called marsh-warblers or reed-warblers, but this invites confusion with Marsh Warbler
and Reed Warbler proper, especially in North America
where it is common to use lower case for bird species.
These are rather drab brownish warblers usually associated with marsh
es or other wetlands. Some are streaked, others plain. Many species are migratory
.
Many species have a flat head profile, which gives rise to the group's scientific name.
Species breeding in temperate
regions are strongly migratory
.
The most enigmatic species of the genus, the Large-billed Reed-warbler
(A. orinus), was rediscovered in Thailand
on March, 2006. It was only found once before, in 1867. It was found also in a remote corner of Afghanistan
in the Summer 2009.
Fragmentary fossil
remains from the Late Miocene
(about 11 mya) of Rudabánya
(NE Hungary
) show some apomorphies typical of this genus (Bernor et al. 2002). Given its rather early age (most Passerida
genera are not known until the Pliocene
), it is not too certain that it is correctly placed here, but it is highly likely to belong to the Acrocephalidae at the least.
Passerine
A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...
bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s belonging to the genus Acrocephalus. Formerly in the paraphyletic Old World warbler
Old World warbler
The "Old World Warblers" is the name used to describe a large group of birds formerly grouped together in the bird family Sylviidae. The family held over 400 species in over 70 genera, and were the source of much taxonomic confusion. Two families were split out initially, the cisticolas into...
assemblage, they are now separated as the namesake of the marsh- and tree-warbler family Acrocephalidae
Acrocephalidae
Acrocephalidae is a family of oscine passerine birds, in the superfamily Sylvioidea....
. They are sometimes called marsh-warblers or reed-warblers, but this invites confusion with Marsh Warbler
Marsh Warbler
The Marsh Warbler, Acrocephalus palustris, is an Old World warbler currently classified in the family Acrocephalidae. It breeds in temperate Europe and western Asia and winters mainly in south east Africa...
and Reed Warbler proper, especially in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
where it is common to use lower case for bird species.
These are rather drab brownish warblers usually associated with marsh
Marsh
In geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of wetland that is subject to frequent or continuous flood. Typically the water is shallow and features grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, other herbaceous plants, and moss....
es or other wetlands. Some are streaked, others plain. Many species are migratory
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
.
Many species have a flat head profile, which gives rise to the group's scientific name.
Species breeding in temperate
Temperate
In geography, temperate or tepid latitudes of the globe lie between the tropics and the polar circles. The changes in these regions between summer and winter are generally relatively moderate, rather than extreme hot or cold...
regions are strongly migratory
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
.
The most enigmatic species of the genus, the Large-billed Reed-warbler
Large-billed Reed-warbler
The Large-billed Reed-warbler is an Old World warbler in the genus Acrocephalus. The species has been dubbed as "the world's least known bird". It was known from a single specimen collected in India in 1867 and rediscovered in the wild in Thailand in 2006...
(A. orinus), was rediscovered in Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
on March, 2006. It was only found once before, in 1867. It was found also in a remote corner of Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
in the Summer 2009.
List of species in taxonomic order
- Moustached WarblerMoustached WarblerThe Moustached Warbler, Acrocephalus melanopogon, is an Old World warbler in the genus Acrocephalus. It breeds in southern Europe and southern temperate Asia with a few in north-west Africa. It is partially migratory...
, Acrocephalus melanopogon - Aquatic WarblerAquatic WarblerThe Aquatic Warbler, Acrocephalus paludicola, is an Old World warbler in the genus Acrocephalus. It breeds in temperate eastern Europe and western Asia, with an estimated population of 15,000 pairs. It is migratory, wintering in west Africa...
, Acrocephalus paludicola - Sedge WarblerSedge WarblerThe Sedge Warbler is an Old World warbler in the genus Acrocephalus. It is a medium-sized warbler with a brown, streaked back and wings and a distinct pale supercilium. Sedge Warblers are migratory, crossing the Sahara to get from their European and Asian breeding grounds to spend winter in Africa...
, Acrocephalus schoenobaenus - Streaked Reed-warblerStreaked Reed-warblerThe Streaked Reed-warbler is a species of Old World warbler in the Acrocephalidae family .It is found in China and the Philippines.Its natural habitats are swamps and arable land....
, Acrocephalus sorghophilus - Black-browed Reed-warblerBlack-browed Reed-warblerThe Black-browed Reed-warbler is a species of marsh-warbler . It was formerly included in the "Old World warbler" assemblage....
, Acrocephalus bistrigiceps - Paddyfield WarblerPaddyfield WarblerThe Paddyfield Warbler, Acrocephalus agricola, is a species of marsh-warbler . It was formerly included in the "Old World warbler" assemblage. The Manchurian Reed-warbler was included in A. agricola as a subspecies.It breeds in temperate central Asia. It is migratory, wintering in Pakistan and...
, Acrocephalus agricola - Manchurian Reed-warblerManchurian Reed-warblerThe Manchurian Reed Warbler , also known as the Manchurian Reed-warbler, is a species of marsh-warbler . It was formerly included in the "Old World warbler" assemblage, and was usually treated as a subspecies of the Paddyfield Warbler...
, Acrocephalus tangorum (sometimes included in A. agricola) - Blunt-winged WarblerBlunt-winged WarblerThe Blunt-winged Warbler is a species of marsh-warbler . It was formerly included in the "Old World warbler" assemblage....
, Acrocephalus concinens - Eurasian Reed Warbler, Acrocephalus scirpaceus
- Caspian Reed Warbler, Acrocephalus (scirpaceus) fuscus
- Mangrove Reed Warbler, Acrocephalus (scirpaceus) avicenniae
- African Reed Warbler, Acrocephalus baeticatus
- Blyth's Reed WarblerBlyth's Reed WarblerThe Blyth's Reed Warbler is an Old World warbler in the genus Acrocephalus. It breeds in temperate Asia and easternmost Europe. It is migratory, wintering in India and Sri Lanka. It is one of the most common winter warblers in those countries...
, Acrocephalus dumetorum - Marsh WarblerMarsh WarblerThe Marsh Warbler, Acrocephalus palustris, is an Old World warbler currently classified in the family Acrocephalidae. It breeds in temperate Europe and western Asia and winters mainly in south east Africa...
, Acrocephalus palustris - Great Reed-warbler, Acrocephalus arundinaceus
- Oriental Reed-warblerOriental Reed-warblerThe Oriental Reed-warbler is a passerine bird of eastern Asia belonging to the reed-warbler genus Acrocephalus. It was formerly classified as a subspecies of the Great Reed-warbler of western Eurasia....
, Acrocephalus orientalis - Clamorous Reed-warblerClamorous Reed-WarblerThe Clamorous Reed Warbler is an Old World warbler in the genus Acrocephalus. It breeds from Egypt eastwards through Pakistan, Afghanistan and northernmost India to south China, southeast Asia and south to Australia...
, Acrocephalus stentoreus - Large-billed Reed-warblerLarge-billed Reed-warblerThe Large-billed Reed-warbler is an Old World warbler in the genus Acrocephalus. The species has been dubbed as "the world's least known bird". It was known from a single specimen collected in India in 1867 and rediscovered in the wild in Thailand in 2006...
, Acrocephalus orinus - Basra Reed-warblerBasra Reed-warblerThe Basra Reed Warbler is a "warbler" of the genus Acrocephalus. It is an endemic breeder in East and southern Iraq and Israel in extensive beds of papyrus and reeds. It is easily mistaken for the Great Reed Warbler but is a bit smaller, has whiter under parts and has a narrower, longer and more...
, Acrocephalus griseldis - Australian Reed-warblerAustralian Reed-WarblerThe Australian Reed-Warbler Acrocephalus australis is an Old World warbler in the genus Acrocephalus. It lives in reedbeds across Australia. It is about 16 centimetres long, and brown and buff in colour....
, Acrocephalus australis - Nightingale Reed-warblerNightingale Reed-warblerThe Nightingale Reed-warbler is a critically endangered songbird of the Mariana Islands. The Chamorro name for the bird is ga`ga` karisu ....
, Acrocephalus luscinia- Aguiguan Nightingale Reed-warbler, Acrocephalus luscinia nijoi – doubtfully distinct; extinct (c.1997)
- Astrolabe Nightingale Reed-warbler, Acrocephalus luscinia astrolabii – extinct (mid-19th century?)
- Pagan Nightingale Reed-warbler, Acrocephalus luscinia yamashinae – doubtfully distinct; extinct (1970s)
- Caroline Reed-warbler, Acrocephalus syrinx
- Nauru Reed-warbler, Acrocephalus rehsei
- Marshall Islands Reed-warbler, Acrocephalus rehsei ssp.? – hypothetical; extinct (c.1880?)
- MillerbirdMillerbirdThe Millerbird is a species of Old World warbler in the family Acrocephalidae. It had two subspecies, A. f. kingi and A f. familiaris. The latter, the Laysan Millerbird, became extinct sometime between 1916 and 1923. The former, the critically endangered Nihoa Millerbird, remains the only race...
, Acrocephalus familiaris- Nihoa MillerbirdNihoa MillerbirdThe Nihoa Millerbird is a subspecies of the Millerbird. It gets its name from its preferred food, the Miller moth. The five-inch long Millerbird has dark, sepia-colored feathers, white belly, and dark beak...
, Acrocephalus familiaris kingi - Laysan MillerbirdLaysan MillerbirdThe Laysan Millerbird was a subspecies of the Millerbird, similar in appearance to the remaining subspecies, the Nihoa Millerbird. Its dorsal side was brown, and its belly was grayish...
, Acrocephalus familiaris familiaris – extinct (late 1910s)
- Nihoa Millerbird
- Christmas Island Warbler, Acrocephalus aequinoctialis
- Tahiti Reed-warbler, Acrocephalus caffer
- Huahine Reed-warbler, Acrocephalus caffer garretti – extinct (19th century?), renamed in Acrocephalus musae garretti
- Raiatea Reed-warbler, Acrocephalus caffer musae – extinct (19th century?), renamed in Acrocephalus musae musae
- Moorea Reed-warbler, Acrocephalus longirostris – extinct (1980s?) (split from Acrocephalus caffer in 2008)
- Tuamotu Reed-warblerTuamotu Reed-warblerThe Tuamotu Reed-warbler is a species of Old World warbler in the Acrocephalidae family.It is found only in French Polynesia.-References:* BirdLife International 2004. . Downloaded on 10 July 2007....
, Acrocephalus atyphus - Rimatara Reed-warblerRimatara Reed-warblerThe Rimatara Reed-warbler is a species of Old World warbler in the Acrocephalidae family.It is found only in French Polynesia.Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and swamps.-Source:...
, Acrocephalus rimatarae - Pitcairn Reed-warbler, Acrocephalus vaughani
- Henderson Island Reed-warbler, Acrocephalus taiti
- Marquesan Reed-warblerMarquesan Reed-warblerThe Marquesan Reed-warbler is a species of Old World warbler in the Acrocephalidae family.It is found only in French Polynesia.-References:* BirdLife International 2004. . Downloaded on 10 July 2007....
, Acrocephalus mendanae - Cook Islands Reed-warblerCook Islands Reed-warblerThe Cook Reed Warbler or Cook Islands Reed Warbler is a species of Old World warbler in the Acrocephalidae family. It is found only in the Cook Islands. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, swamps, and rural gardens. It is threatened by habitat loss.-References:* BirdLife...
, Acrocephalus kerearako - Greater Swamp-warblerGreater Swamp-warblerThe Greater Swamp-warbler is a species of Old World warbler in the Acrocephalidae family.It is found in Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Mauritania, Namibia,...
, Acrocephalus rufescens - Cape Verde Swamp-warbler, Acrocephalus brevipennis
- Lesser Swamp-warblerLesser Swamp-warblerThe Lesser Swamp Warbler or Cape Reed Warbler, Acrocephalus gracilirostris, is an Old World warbler in the genus Acrocephalus. It is a resident breeder in Africa from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Chad and Ethiopia south to South Africa...
, Acrocephalus gracilirostris - Madagascar Swamp-warblerMadagascar Swamp-warblerThe Madagascar Swamp-warbler is a species of Old World warbler in the Acrocephalidae family.It is found only in Madagascar.Its natural habitat is swamps.-References:...
, Acrocephalus newtoni - Thick-billed WarblerThick-billed WarblerThe Thick-billed Warbler is an Old World warbler that breeds in temperate east Asia. It is migratory, wintering in tropical south east Asia. It is a very rare vagrant to western Europe....
, Acrocephalus aedon - Rodrigues Brush-warbler, Acrocephalus rodericanus
- Seychelles WarblerSeychelles WarblerThe Seychelles Warbler , also known as Seychelles Brush-warbler, is a small songbird found on four granitic and corraline islands in the Seychelles. It is a greenish-brown bird with long legs and a long slender bill. It is primarily found in forested areas on the islands...
, Acrocephalus sechellensis
Fragmentary fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
remains from the Late Miocene
Late Miocene
The Late Miocene is a sub-epoch of the Miocene Epoch made up of two stages. The Tortonian and Messinian stages comprise the Late Miocene sub-epoch....
(about 11 mya) of Rudabánya
Rudabánya
- External links :* *...
(NE Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
) show some apomorphies typical of this genus (Bernor et al. 2002). Given its rather early age (most Passerida
Passerida
Passerida is under the Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy, one of two "parvorders" contained within the suborder Passeri...
genera are not known until the Pliocene
Pliocene
The Pliocene Epoch is the period in the geologic timescale that extends from 5.332 million to 2.588 million years before present. It is the second and youngest epoch of the Neogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Pliocene follows the Miocene Epoch and is followed by the Pleistocene Epoch...
), it is not too certain that it is correctly placed here, but it is highly likely to belong to the Acrocephalidae at the least.
External links
- Acrocephalus videos on the Internet Bird Collection