Reed warblers · Perching birds
Sedge Warbler
Copied!
Acrocephalus schoenobaenus
Copied!
Voice
Song
Noé Ferrari
Call
Sonothèque ADVL
Alarm
Sonothèque ADVL
How to recognize it
-
13 cm, like a tit
-
Brown back with grey streaking, pale underparts
-
Pale supercilium, black cap
-
Call: "chek", "shrrr"
About the species
The Sedge Warbler stays low in dense reeds and riverside scrub, so you’re more likely to notice it by sound than by sight. Its plain brown-and-grey look helps it blend into the stems.
It keeps moving through thick cover, picking insects, spiders, and other small prey from the vegetation. The call can sound like a sharp “chirr” or “kerr”, and the male’s song comes in rushed, chattering phrases.
It uses marshes, wet meadows, and cultivated fields, and in winter it heads south of the Sahara. In Europe it is most present from April to October, especially where reedbeds, scrub, and damp ground come together.
Where to find
-
Along reed-lined pond and canal edges — especially where shrubs crowd the bank, its sharp “chack” call comes from deep cover.
-
On damp meadow strips and weedy vacant lots — hopping low through grass stems and snatching insects.
-
In thick reeds beside shallow water at dawn — the male sings from a bare reed or twig, then drops back into cover.
-
By overgrown ditches and marshy fringes — easiest to catch when it flits quickly between low bushes.
You might also see
Sources
- eBird — Acrocephalus schoenobaenus Sightings map and full description on eBird
- Wikipedia — Sedge warbler Encyclopedia article