The clamorous reed warbler (''Acrocephalus stentoreus'') is an

Old World warbler Old World warblers are 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 ci ...

in the genus '' Acrocephalus''. It breeds from

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

eastwards through

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

, Afghanistan and northernmost India to south

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

and southeast Asia. ''A. s. meridionalis'' is an endemic race in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

Subspecies

Nine subspecies are recorded: *''A. s. stentoreus'' (Hemprich & Ehrenberg, 1833) *''A. s. brunnescens'' (Jerdon, 1839) *''A. s. amyae'' Stuart Baker, 1922 *''A. s. meridionalis'' (Legge, 1875) *''A. s. siebersi'' Salomonsen, 1928 *''A. s. lentecaptus'' E. J. O. Hartert, 1924 *''A. s. harterti'' Salomonsen, 1928 *''A. s. celebensis'' Heinroth, 1903 *''A. s. sumbae'' E. J. O. Hartert, 1924

Description

Clamorous reed warbler is a large

song thrush The song thrush (''Turdus philomelos'') is a Thrush (bird), thrush that breeds across the West Palearctic. It has brown upper-parts and black-spotted cream or buff underparts and has three recognised subspecies. Its distinctive Birdsong, song, ...

-sized warbler at 18–20 cm. The adult has an unstreaked brown back and whitish underparts. The forehead is flattened, and the bill is strong and pointed. The sexes are identical, as with most warblers. It is very like the great reed warbler, but that species has richer coloured underparts. There are a number of races differing in

plumage Plumage ( "feather") is a layer of feathers that covers a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage differ between species and subspecies and may vary with age classes. Within species, ...

shades. The migratory northern race has the richest brown upperparts, and the endemic Sri Lanka subspecies is the darkest form. Like most warblers, the clamorous reed warbler 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 ...

, but will take other small prey items. The song is loud and far-carrying, but less raucous than that of the great reed warbler. It is a slow, chattering ' with typically acrocephaline whistles and mimicry added.

Habitat

Most populations are sedentary, but the breeding birds in

, Afghanistan and north India are migratory, wintering in peninsular India and Sri Lanka. This passerine bird is a species found in large reed beds, often with some bushes. 3-6

egg An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the a ...

s are laid in a basket nest in reeds.

References

* ''Warblers of Europe, Asia and North Africa'' by Baker, ISBN * ''Birds of India'' by Grimmett, Inskipp and Inskipp, ISBN

clamorous reed warbler The clamorous reed warbler (''Acrocephalus stentoreus'') is an Old World warbler in the genus '' Acrocephalus''. It breeds from Egypt eastwards through Pakistan, Afghanistan and northernmost India to south China and southeast Asia. ''A. s. meridi ...

Birds of Central Asia Birds of Afghanistan Birds of Pakistan Birds of the Middle East Birds of Yunnan

Taxa named by Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg {{Acrocephalidae-stub