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Paddyfield Warbler (Acrocephalus agricola) — photo 1 of 6
© Birds of Gilgit-Baltistan from Aliabad, Hunza, Pakistan CC BY-SA 2.0

Reed warblers · Perching birds

Paddyfield Warbler

Acrocephalus agricola

Summer visitor

How to recognize it

  • 13 cm, like a great tit

  • Pale brown back, no streaking

  • Clear whitish supercilium, buff-white underparts

  • In reeds and tall grass; fast song with mimicry

About the species

The paddyfield warbler keeps to low, tangled cover and rarely sits out in the open for long. Its pale brown upperparts and soft buff underparts blend into reeds and long grass, and the short, pointed bill gives it a plain, practical look.

It moves restlessly through stems and shrubs, usually staying low and hidden. The song runs fast and can include mimicry, with whistles mixed in, while the weaker, more rhythmic version helps set it apart from its close relative.

It breeds in reed beds, long grass, rice fields, and other damp places, and feeds on small insects. In summer it stays in the central Palearctic, then migrates south for winter to Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh.

Where to find

  • Along canal edges and pond margins — especially in dense reeds, where the paddyfield warbler gives itself away with a quick, rhythmic song from cover.

  • On overgrown banks and weedy vacant lots with tall grass — it stays low, slipping between stems and rarely perching in the open.

  • In reed-fringed shallows near bushes — most noticeable in the morning, when short bursts of song rise from deep inside the reeds.

  • At old, overgrown water bodies with a thick reed belt — best spotted by pausing to listen for its fast chatter coming from the marshy edge.

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