The moustached warbler (''Acrocephalus melanopogon'') is an
Old World warbler in the
genus ''
Acrocephalus''. It breeds in southern
Europe and southern
temperate Asia
The World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) is a biogeographical system developed by the international Biodiversity Information Standards (TDWG) organization, formerly the International Working Group on Taxonomic Da ...
with a few breeding in north-west
Africa. It is partially
migratory. South-west European birds are resident, south-east European birds winter in the
Mediterranean breeding range, and the Asiatic race migrates to
Arabia,
India and
Pakistan.
It is scarce north of its range, but has occurred as a very rare vagrant as far as
Poland and
Denmark. There have been a few reports from
Great Britain, including a pair breeding in
Cambridgeshire in 1946, but these records have recently been removed from the official list of British birds, being unconvincingly distinguished from sedge warblers or
paddyfield warblers.
This
passerine bird is a species found in upright aquatic vegetation such as reeds and
sedge. 3 to 6
eggs are laid from mid-April and incubated for 14 to 15 days. The nest is built over water among reeds or rushes or in a bush. This species is usually
monogamous
Monogamy ( ) is a form of Dyad (sociology), dyadic Intimate relationship, relationship in which an individual has only one Significant other, partner during their lifetime. Alternately, only one partner at any one time (Monogamy#Serial monogamy, ...
(Leisler & Wink 2000).
This is a medium-sized warbler, long, slightly larger than the similar
sedge warbler, ''Acrocephalus schoenobaenus''. The adult has a finely streaked brown back and white underparts. The forehead is flattened, there is a prominent whitish supercilium, grey ear coverts, and the bill is strong and pointed.
The sexes are identical, as with most warblers, but young birds are more heavily streaked and have markings on the breast. Like most warblers, it is
insectivorous
A robber fly eating a hoverfly
An insectivore is a carnivorous animal or plant that eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which can also refer to the human practice of eating insects.
The first vertebrate insectivores were ...
and also feeds on water snails.
The song is fast and similar to the sedge warbler and
reed warbler, with some mimicry and typically acrocephaline whistles added. Its song is softer and more melodious than those of its relatives, and includes phrases reminiscent of the
nightingale. Unlike the sedge warbler, it does not sing in flight.
References
*Leisler, B. & Wink, Michael (2000): Frequencies of multiple paternity in three ''Acrocephalus'' species (Aves: Sylviidae) with different mating systems (''A. palustris, A. arundinaceus, A. paludicola''). ''Ethology, Ecology & Evolution'' 12: 237–249
PDF fulltext*Snow, David W.; Perrins, Christopher M.; Doherty, Paul & Cramp, Stanley (1998): ''The complete birds of the western Palaearctic on CD-ROM''. Oxford University Press.
External links
Ageing and sexing (PDF; 1.9 MB) by Javier Blasco-Zumeta & Gerd-Michael Heinze
{{Taxonbar, from=Q385273
moustached warbler
Birds of Europe
Birds of North Africa
Birds of Central Asia
Birds of Western Asia
Birds of Armenia
Birds of Azerbaijan
moustached warbler