Moustached Warbler

Overview

The moustached warbler (Acrocephalus melanopogon) is an Old World warbler that breeds across southern Europe and southern temperate Asia. It is partially migratory, with populations in south-west Europe remaining resident while those in south-east Europe and Asia migrate to warmer regions in winter.

Identification

• Measures 12–13 cm in length and is slightly smaller than the similar sedge warbler.
• Features a finely streaked brown back, white underparts, a flattened forehead, and a prominent whitish supercilium with grey ear coverts.
• Has a strong, pointed bill, and young birds display heavier streaking and breast markings.
• Possesses a soft, melodious song with acrocephaline whistles and nightingale-like phrases, but unlike the sedge warbler, it does not sing in flight.

Habitat

Found primarily in upright aquatic vegetation such as reeds and sedges. Its breeding range extends from southern Europe to southern temperate Asia, with a few populations in north-west Africa, though it is scarce at the northern edges of its distribution.

Diet

Like most warblers, it is insectivorous.

Did you know?

Although there are historical reports of the species in Great Britain, including a breeding pair in Cambridgeshire in 1946, these records have been removed from the official list of British birds because they were not convincingly distinguished from sedge warblers or paddyfield warblers.