The lanceolated warbler (''Locustella lanceolata'') is an Old World warbler in the

grass warbler The grass warblers are small passerine birds belonging to the genus ''Locustella''. Formerly placed in the paraphyletic "Old World warbler" assemblage, they are now considered the northernmost representatives of a largely Gondwanan family, the L ...

genus ''Locustella''. It breeds from northeast European

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

across the Palearctic to northern Hokkaidō, Japan. It is migratory, wintering in

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainlan ...

. The genus name ''Locustella'' is from

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

and is a diminutive of ''locusta'', "grasshopper". This refers to the song of the

common grasshopper warbler The common grasshopper warbler (''Locustella naevia'') is a species of Old World warbler in the grass warbler genus ''Locustella''. It breeds across much of temperate Europe and the western Palearctic. It is migratory, wintering in north and we ...

and some others in this genus. The specific '' lanceolata'' is

for "spear-shaped" and refers to the streaks on the breast. This small

passerine A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped'), which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines are distinguished from other orders of birds by th ...

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

is a species found in grassland with some thicker shrubby vegetation or trees, often close to water in bogs or wet clearings. Five eggs are laid in a nest in a tussock. This species is a rare

vagrant Vagrancy is the condition of homelessness without regular employment or income. Vagrants (also known as bums, vagabonds, rogues, tramps or drifters) usually live in poverty and support themselves by begging, scavenging, petty theft, temporar ...

to western

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

. One of the best places to see this skulking species as a vagrant is

Fair Isle Fair Isle (; sco, Fair Isle; non, Friðarey; gd, Fara) is an island in Shetland, in northern Scotland. It lies about halfway between mainland Shetland and Orkney. It is known for its bird observatory and a traditional style of knitting. Th ...

, Shetland. This is a small warbler. The adult has a streaked brown back and whitish grey underparts, which have small lance-head like streaks, that are also found on the undertail. The sexes are identical, as with most warblers, but young birds are yellower below. Like most warblers, it is insectivorous. This is a skulking species which is very difficult to see except sometimes when singing. It creeps through grass and low foliage. The song is a monotonous mechanical

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three ...

-like reeling as in other species in the group, often given at dusk. There are two subspecies recorded, as ''L. l. lanceolata'' (Temminck, 1840) and ''L. l. hendersonii'' (Cassin, 1858).

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q837761 lanceolated warbler Birds of Russia lanceolated warbler