African Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus baeticatus) [XC771499]
by Rick Nuttall from Tierpoort river, Austin's Post), Bloemfontein, Free State, South Africa (call)
African Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus baeticatus) [XC539543]
by id from Duka Bovu, Monduli, Arusha Region, Tanzania (call)
Subspecies
Common Reed-Warbler (Acrocephalus scirpaceus) and African Reed-Warbler (Acrocephalus baeticatus) (Sibley and Monroe 1990, 1993) have been lumped into Acrocephalus scirpaceus following Dowsett and Forbes-Watson (1993).
Belongs to a probably monophyletic group of small plain-coloured species that also includes Common Reed-Warbler (Acrocephalus scirpaceus), Blyth's Reed-Warbler (Acrocephalus dumetorum) and Marsh Warbler (Acrocephalus palustris), along with the closely related Paddyfield Warbler (Acrocephalus agricola) superspecies (comprising also White-browed Reed-Warbler (Acrocephalus tangorum) and Blunt-winged Warbler (Acrocephalus concinens)). Has been considered conspecific with Common Reed-Warbler (Acrocephalus scirpaceus), but generally regarded as distinct because of different migratory behaviour and associated wing structure. Genetic studies suggest that subspecies avicenniae should perhaps be placed with that species.
Proposed subspecies fraterculus (from southern Mozambique) synonymized with cinnamomeus.
The following 8 subspecies are recognised:
guiersi (Vieillot, 1817) - Northern Senegal.
cinnamomeus Reichenow, 1908 - Southern Senegal, southern Mali, eastern Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, Chad, and western and southern Sudan east to western and central Ethiopia and southern Somalia, and south to northern and south-eastern DRCongo, eastern Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique.
avicenniae Ash et al., 1989 - Mangroves of coastal Sudan, Eritrea, western Arabia and northern Somalia. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Mangrove Reed-Warbler (Acrocephalus avicenniae).
hallae White, CMN, 1960 - South-western Angola east to south-western Zambia, south to Namibia, western and south-western Botswana and western South Africa.
suahelicus Grote, 1926 - Coastal Tanzania southern (mainly in mangroves) to eastern Mozambique and north-eastern South Africa (KwaZulu-Natal).
baeticatus (Vieillot, 1817) - Northern Botswana and Zimbabwe south to southern and south-eastern South Africa.
ambiguus (Brehm, AE, 1857) - Breeds north-western Africa (Morocco to Tunisia) and south-western Europe (Iberian Peninsula); Moroccon population at least partially resident, otherwise winters in sub-Saharan Africa, but range not known in detail.
minor Lynes, 1923 - Sahel region from Sengal to west-central Sudan (Darfur).
BirdLife International Species Factsheet