Grassbirds · Perching birds
River Warbler
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Locustella fluviatilis
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Voice
Song
Robert Petersen
Song
Robert Petersen
Song
Robert Petersen
How to recognize it
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15 cm, like a large reed warbler
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Unstreaked grey-brown upperparts
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Whitish grey below, breast with dark streaks
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Broad tail with white-tipped undertail; song "zer-zer-zer"
About the species
The River Warbler is a shy, hard-to-see warbler that usually gives itself away by sound and movement rather than by looks. It slips through grass and low cover, staying low and hidden.
The male sings from a perch, then drops straight back into thick vegetation. Its song is a steady, insect-like reeling, most often heard at dusk or early morning, and sometimes even in darkness at the start of the breeding season.
It lives in dense, wet places near water, especially along rivers, in bogs, marshy meadows, and overgrown floodplain woods. It feeds on small insects, spiders, and other tiny animals, foraging on the ground, in grass, and in shrubs, and it migrates to inland southern and eastern Africa for the winter.
Where to find
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Along canal banks, pond edges, and weedy river margins — in dense low growth, where its steady insect-like reeling carries at dawn and dusk.
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In floodplain copses by city rivers — near willow thickets and young trees, as the male sings from a branch a few meters up and then drops back into the grass.
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On damp vacant lots and overgrown lawns — in low weeds and shrubs, where River Warbler feeds on insects on the ground and among stems.
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At reed fringes and soggy tangles behind the embankment — listen for the sewing-machine song while it stays mostly hidden in cover.
You might also see
Sources
- eBird — Locustella fluviatilis Sightings map and full description on eBird
- Wikipedia — River warbler Encyclopedia article