Acrocephalus scirpaceus - Reed Warbler

Taxonomy

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Aves

Order: Passeriformes

Family: Sylviideae

The reed warbler is a summer visitor to southern Britain, arriving around the end of April and leaving in September; they spend our winter months in the African tropics.

Reed warblers are quite common songbirds found mainly in marshy areas of Southern Britain. They are sometimes mistaken for Chiffchaffs; these two little birds do look quite similar but their songs are very different. The Reed Warbler's rasping, repetitive 'churring' song cannot be confused with 'chiff-chaff-chiff-chaff' call of its dubious doppelganger.

Reed Warblers are often found where large reed beds fringe lakes and slow-flowing rivers. The male and female are almost identical in size (12.5 to 14cm long) and colouring. They feed on insects caught either on the wing or by hunting among the bank-side vegetation.

The nest is usually suspended between reed stems; there a batch of tyopicaklly four eggs is incubated in about a fortnight; they young fledge two weeks after hatching, and often a pair of Reed Warblers will produce a second brood before the summer is over.