Page 331 - Complete Birds of Britain and Europe (DK - RSPB)

WARBLERS AND ALLIES
Order Passeriformes Family Sylviidae Species Locustella luscinioides
Savi’s Warbler
long, flat head
slopes into long,
slender bill
round wings
plain brown
above
pale throat
curved outer edge
to closed wings
rounded
tail
brown-buff
IN FLIGHT underside with
paler belly

long tail, rounded
at tip
long, thick brown
undertail coverts

FLIGHT: short, flitting flight between reed clumps.
dark under
tail
n exception to the Locustella rule, being plain
Arather than streaked, Savi’s Warbler is more like the
plain-backed Reed and Marsh Warblers. It is also, like the Reed Warbler, a bird
of dense reedbeds, much less adaptable to various grassy habitats than the more
widespread Grasshopper Warbler. It is easily detected by its song (although many
may not realize that it is a bird singing at all), especially around dawn and dusk,
and patience may reveal its small, dark form, singing from a reed stem. Savi’s
Warbler is usually rather scarce even in its breeding areas and is rarely seen as a
migrant outside its breeding range. It needs to be separated with care from the
similarly coloured reed warbler group but the family characteristics, including
the round-edged wings, long, thick undertail coverts and rounded tail help in
identification, if the bird is seen closely. Savi’s Warblers spend the winter in Africa.
VOICE Short, sharp, metallic call; song like Grasshopper Warbler but more
slurred, less ticking, faster, lower buzz, zurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
NESTING Large, untidy, loose nest of grass in reeds or sedges; 4 eggs; 2 broods;
April–June.
FEEDING Forages for insects and spiders in dense vegetation.
OCCURRENCE
SIMILAR SPECIES Very local; breeding range
scattered across Europe from
straight-edged wings
Spain and Portugal to extreme
subtly streaked SE England and east into Asia.
back and crown Appears from April to September
darker
shorter in extensive wet reedbeds.Very
rare migrant away from this
shorter-tailed habitat on coast.
REED WARBLER
different song; GRASSHOPPER WARBLER CETTI’S WARBLER Seen in the UK
see p.324 see p.328 see p.330 J F M A M JJ A S O N D
Length 14–15cm (5 1 ⁄2 –6in) Wingspan 15–20cm (6–8in) Weight 12–15g ( 7 ⁄16 – 9 ⁄16oz)
Social Solitary Lifespan Up to 5 years Status Secure†
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