Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler
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| Locustella certhiola (Pallas, 1811) |
The Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler, Locustella certhiola, is an Old World warbler in the grass warbler genus Locustella. It breeds in east Asia. It is migratory, wintering from India east to Indonesia.
This small passerine bird is a species found in tall grass with some thicker vegetation, usually close to water in bogs or wet meadows. From 4 to 7 eggs are laid in a nest on the ground in grass. This species is a very rare vagrant to western Europe. One of the best places to see this skulking species as a vagrant is Fair Isle, Shetland; for a species that only rarely appears in western Europe, it can be found there with some regularity. This has made it a popular species among UK "twitchers" in whose jargon it is known as "PG Tips".
This is a medium-sized warbler. The adult has a streaked brown back, whitish grey underparts, unstreaked except on the undertail. The sexes are identical, as with most warblers, but young birds are yellower below. Like most warblers, it is insectivorous. It is very similar to the Grasshopper Warbler, but is slightly larger, has white tips to the tail and tertial feathers, and a warmer brown rump.
This is a skulky species which is very difficult to see except sometimes when singing. It creeps through grass and low foliage.
The song is not the mechanical insect-like reeling produced by the Grasshopper Warbler and some other Locustella warblers, but an inventive Acrocephalus-like melody.
This bird was named after the German zoologist Peter Simon Pallas.
[edit] References
- BirdLife International (2004). Locustella certhiola. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 12 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
