A photo of a River Warbler (Locustella fluviatilis)
River Warbler

River Warbler

Locustella fluviatilis

The river warbler (Locustella fluviatilis) is an Old World warbler in the grass warbler genus Locustella. It breeds in eastern and central Europe, and into the western Palearctic. It is migratory, wintering in inland southern Africa, from around the Zambezi River south to the vicinity of Pretoria in South Africa. The genus name Locustella is from Latin and is a diminutive of locusta, "grasshopper". This refers to the song of the common grasshopper warbler and some others in this genus. The specific fluviatilis is Latin for "of a river". This is a largish warbler. The adult has an unstreaked grey-brown back, whitish grey underparts, and a darker undertail, which has white feather tips giving a contrasting pattern. The sexes are identical, as with most warblers, but young birds are yellower below. Like most warblers, it is insectivorous. Some birds can show reduced dark markings on the undertail coverts (caused by more extensive than usual white tips) and thus are closer in appearance to Savi's warbler than typical river warblers. However, they typically still have a streaked breast and more olive colouration on the upperparts. This is a skulking species which is very difficult to see except sometimes when singing. It creeps through grass and low foliage. The song is a monotonous mechanical insect-like reeling, often given at dusk. It is similar to the song of other species in the group, but has more of a sewing machine quality, and may be produced for long periods.
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River Warblers on Birda

Photos

Sightings

A map showing the sighting location
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Stanis Combrink
Thursday 16 Mar 2023 - 4:35am
South Africa
A map showing the sighting location
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Daniel B
Thursday 14 Jul 2022 - 8:01am
Poland
A map showing the sighting location
🦢
Daniel B
Thursday 14 Jul 2022 - 6:59am
Poland
A map showing the sighting location
🦢
Daniel B
Wednesday 13 Jul 2022 - 8:06pm
Poland
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