Black-browed Reed Warbler

Black-browed Reed Warbler

Scientific Name: Acrocephalus bistrigiceps

Malay Name: Cekup-Paya Kecil Biasa

Chinese Name: 黑眉苇莺

Range: Found from Siberia, Mongolia, northern China, northern Japan to North Korea and winters to the Indian subcontinent, southern China, Indochina, the Thai-Malay Peninsula and Sumatra

Taxonomy: Monotypic.

Size: 13.5-14 cm

Identification: Adult has long broad pale buff supercilium bordered above by prominent black lateral crown-stripe, warm olive-brown upperparts with slightly more rufescent rump and whitish underparts with warm buff breast-sides and flanks.

Similar looking species: Booted Warbler

Habitat: Reedbed and grassland near water.

Behaviour/Ecology: Skulks in reedbeeds and tall dense waterside vegetation.

Local Status: Uncommon migrant

Conservation Status: Least Concern (BirdLife International 2017)

Location: Kranji Marsh, Sengkang Riverside Park, Lorong Halus, Punggol Barat, Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, Jurong Eco Garden and Chinese/Japanese Gardens.

Migrant bar chart (see more bar charts):

Black-browed Reed Warbler Acrocephalus bistrigiceps
Estimated average number of individuals by week based on eBird data, Jul 2014 to Jun 2024
Peak week Jan 01-Jan 07
Early date 27 Sep 1990
Late date 21 May 2019
A common and highly vocal reed warbler from Dec to Apr. The somewhat similar Manchurian Reed Warbler, which remains unrecorded in Singapore, is larger and structurally different.

References:

BirdLife International. (2017). Acrocephalus bistrigiceps. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-1.RLTS.T22714709A111077307.en. Accessed on 1 January 2023

Jeyarajasingam, A., & Pearson, A. (2012). A Field Guide to the Birds of Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore. Oxford University Press.

Robson, C. (2014). Field guide to the birds of South-East Asia (Second Edition). Bloomsbury Publishing, London.

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