Other Names (World)
Common Grasshopper-Warbler, Grasshopper Warbler, Western Grasshopper-Warbler, European Grasshopper-warbler, Pale Grasshopper-warbler, Common Grasshopper Warbler
Family
Locustellidae (Grasshopper-warblers And Grassbirds)
Common Grasshopper Warbler (Locustella naevia) [XC246209]
by Teet Sirotkin from Gif-sur-Yvette, Essonne, \u00cele-de-France, Germany (song)
Common Grasshopper Warbler (Locustella naevia) [XC813473]
by Peter Boesman from , Kazakhstan (call)
Nest
Dome of dead leaves and grass, on the ground or a little above it, in thick vegetation, lined with hair and fine grasses, often with a side entrance.
Eggs (Guide)
6; white, finely, often densely, speckled purplish.
Subspecies
DNA studies indicate that this species forms a group with Lanceolated Warbler (Locustella lanceolata), River Warbler (Locustella fluviatilis) and Savi's Warbler (Locustella luscinioides). Close affinities of these with certain Asian Bradypterus species is also suggested. Subspecies appear to form two distinct pairs: nominate and obscurior in western (larger and browner), and straminea and mongolica in eastern (smaller, paler and greyer).
The following 4 subspecies are recognised:
naevia (Boddaert, 1783) - Breeds Europe (from southern Scandinavia and southern Finland south to Britain and Ireland, north-western Iberia, Alps and R Danube) east to western European Russia and Ukraine. Non-breeding western Africa.
obscurior Buturlin, 1929 - Breeds Caucasus Mts south to north-eastern Turkey and Armenia. Non-breeding probably north-eastern Africa.
straminea Seebohm, 1881 - Breeds central and southern parts of eastern European Russia east to south-western Siberia (Novosibirsk), central and eastern Kazakhstan and north-western China (Tien Shan). Non-breeding mostly southern Asia, a few in Ethiopia.
mongolica Sushkin, 1925 - Breeds Zayzan Depression (eastern Kazakhstan) east to Sayan Mts (in southern Russia) and western Mongolia. Non-breeding range uncertain, presumably southern Asia.
The Reader's Digest Book of British Birds 1980, 3rd Edition, Drive Publications Ltd ISBN 0 340 25308 8
Birds in Colour Campbell, B., 1960, Penguin Books Ltd
The Pocket Guide to Nest and Eggs Fitter, R.S.R., 1954, Collins
RSPB Handbook of British Birds Holden, P., Cleeves, T., 2002, A & C Black ISBN 0 7136 5713 8
Birds of Britain and Europe Sterry, P., et al., 2001, AA Publishing ISBN 0 7495 3068 5
The Popular Handbook of British Birds Hollom, P.A.D., 1973, H.F. & G. Witherby Ltd ISBN 0 85493 002 7
BirdLife International Species Factsheet