Reed and Bush Warblers

713 Pages·2010·57.94 MB·English

by  Peter Kennerley

reed and bush
warblers
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reed and bush
warblers
peter Kennerley and david pearson
illustrated by brian small
Christopher helm
london
published 2010 by Christopher helm,
an imprint of a&C black publishers ltd, 36 soho square, london w1d 3QY
Copyright © 2010 text by peter Kennerley and david pearson
Copyright © 2010 artwork by brian small
Copyright © 2010 photographs by named photographers
the right of peter Kennerley and david pearson to be identified as the authors of this work has been
asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, designs and patents act 1988.
isbn (print) 978-0-7136-6022-7
isbn (e-pub) 978-1-4081-2751-3
isbn (e-pdf) 978-1-4081-3401-6
a Cip catalogue record for this book is available from the british library
all rights reserved. no part of this publication may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means –
photographic, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or information storage or
retrieval systems – without permission of the publishers.
this book is produced using paper that is made from wood grown in managed sustainable forests. it is natural,
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of the country of origin.
Commissioning editor: nigel redman
project editor: Jim martin
design by Julie dando at Fluke art
printed in spain by GraphyCems
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CONTENTS
plate page
Foreword by professor philip round 9
aCKnowledGements 10
physical features and main habitat types of eurasia 12
pacific ocean showing location of major islands and island groups 13
provinces of China, india and pakistan 14
introduCtion 15
taxonomY, speCies inClusion and seQuenCe 17
Genus and speCies aCCounts 19
topoGraphY oF a bird, terminoloGY and GlossarY 25
miGration 28
moult strateGies 31
aGeinG 34
phYloGenetiC relationships as reVealed bY moleCular
analYses by professor staffan bensch 35
oriGins, distribution and extinCtion oF AcrocephAlus in
the paCiFiC oCean 41
maJor Contributors and sourCes 43
Colour plates 44
speCies aCCounts 129
Family lOCuSTEllidaE
Genus Bradypterus 129
little rush warbler Bradypterus baboecala 1 129
white-winged swamp warbler Bradypterus carpalis 1 135
Grauer’s swamp warbler Bradypterus graueri 1 138
dja river warbler Bradypterus grandis 1 140
bamboo warbler Bradypterus alfredi 2 142
barratt’s warbler Bradypterus barratti 2 144
Knysna warbler Bradypterus sylvaticus 2 147
Cinnamon bracken warbler Bradypterus cinnamomeus 3 149
bangwa Forest warbler Bradypterus bangwaensis 3 152
evergreen Forest warbler Bradypterus lopezi 3, 4 154
spotted bush warbler Bradypterus thoracicus 5 159
baikal bush warbler Bradypterus davidi 5 165
long-billed bush warbler Bradypterus major 6 170
Chinese bush warbler Bradypterus tacsanowskius 6 173
brown bush warbler Bradypterus luteoventris 6 178
russet bush warbler Bradypterus mandelli 7 182
Javan bush warbler Bradypterus montis 7 187
timor bush warbler Bradypterus timorensis 7 190
benguet bush warbler Bradypterus seebohmi 7 192
taiwan bush warbler Bradypterus alishanensis 7 195
long-tailed bush warbler Bradypterus caudatus 8 199
Kinabalu bush warbler Bradypterus accentor 8 202
Chestnut-backed bush warbler Bradypterus castaneus 8 205
plate page
Genus Elaphrornis 208
Ceylon bush warbler elaphrornis palliseri 8 208
Genus Locustella 211
savi’s warbler locustella luscinioides 9 211
river warbler locustella fluviatilis 9 219
Grasshopper warbler locustella naevia 10, 11 225
lanceolated warbler locustella lanceolata 11 235
pallas’s Grasshopper warbler locustella certhiola 12 245
middendorff’s Grasshopper warbler locustella ochotensis 13 258
styan’s Grasshopper warbler locustella pleskei 13 267
Gray’s Grasshopper warbler locustella fasciolata 14 274
Japanese swamp warbler locustella pryeri 15 282
Family aCrOCEphalidaE
Genus Acrocephalus 288
moustached warbler Acrocephalus melanopogon 15,16 289
sedge warbler Acrocephalus schoenobaenus 16 296
aquatic warbler Acrocephalus paludicola 16 302
streaked reed warbler Acrocephalus sorghophilus 17 307
black-browed reed warbler Acrocephalus bistrigiceps 17 311
manchurian reed warbler Acrocephalus tangorum 17 317
blunt-winged warbler Acrocephalus concinens 18 322
paddyfield warbler Acrocephalus agricola 18 329
blyth’s reed warbler Acrocephalus dumetorum 19 336
large-billed reed warbler Acrocephalus orinus 19 343
marsh warbler Acrocephalus palustris 19 347
eurasian reed warbler Acrocephalus scirpaceus 20, 21 354
african reed warbler Acrocephalus baeticatus 21 364
Cape Verde warbler Acrocephalus brevipennis 21 369
lesser swamp warbler Acrocephalus gracilirostris 22 372
Greater swamp warbler Acrocephalus rufescens 23 377
madagascar swamp warbler Acrocephalus newtoni 23 382
seychelles warbler Acrocephalus sechellensis 23 385
rodrigues warbler Acrocephalus rodericanus 23 388
basra reed warbler Acrocephalus griseldis 24 391
Great reed warbler Acrocephalus arundinaceus 24 396
oriental reed warbler Acrocephalus orientalis 25 403
Clamorous reed warbler Acrocephalus stentoreus 26, 27 410
australian reed warbler Acrocephalus australis 27 422
millerbird Acrocephalus familiaris 28 428
Cook islands warbler Acrocephalus kerearako 28 431
pitcairn island warbler Acrocephalus vaughani 28 434
henderson island warbler Acrocephalus taiti 28 437
rimatara warbler Acrocephalus rimitarae 28 439
Kiritimati warbler Acrocephalus aequinoctialis 28 441
southern marquesan warbler Acrocephalus mendanae 29 444
northern marquesan warbler Acrocephalus percernis 29 444
tahiti warbler Acrocephalus caffer 29 449
tuamotu warbler Acrocephalus atyphus 30 453
nightingale warbler Acrocephalus luscinius 30 457
plate page
Caroline islands warbler Acrocephalus syrinx 30 460
nauru warbler Acrocephalus rehsei 30 463
Genus Hippolais 465
icterine warbler hippolais icterina 31 465
melodious warbler hippolais polyglotta 31 471
olive-tree warbler hippolais olivetorum 31 476
upcher’s warbler hippolais languida 32 481
Genus Iduna 486
eastern olivaceous warbler Iduna pallida 32, 33 486
western olivaceous warbler Iduna opaca 32 494
sykes’s warbler Iduna rama 33 498
booted warbler Iduna caligata 33 503
dark-capped Yellow warbler Iduna natalensis 34 509
mountain Yellow warbler Iduna similis 34 514
Genus Phragamaticola 516
thick-billed warbler phragamaticola aedon 25 516
Genus Calamonastides 522
papyrus Yellow warbler calamonastides gracilirostris 34 522
Genus Nesillas 526
madagascar brush warbler Nesillas typica 35 526
lantz’s brush warbler Nesillas lantzii 35 530
Grande Comore brush warbler Nesillas brevicaudata 35 532
moheli brush warbler Nesillas mariae 35 534
aldabra brush warbler Nesillas aldabranus 35 536
Family CETTiidaE
Genus Oligura 538
Chestnut-headed tesia oligura castaneocoronata 36 538
Genus Tesia 541
Grey-bellied tesia Tesia cyaniventer 36 541
slaty-bellied tesia Tesia olivea 36 544
Javan tesia Tesia superciliaris 36 547
russet-capped tesia Tesia everetti 36 549
Genus Urosphena 551
timor stubtail urosphena subulata 37 551
bornean stubtail urosphena whiteheadi 37 554
asian stubtail urosphena squameiceps 37 556
Genus Cettia 560
pale-footed bush warbler cettia pallidipes 37 560
sunda bush warbler cettia vulcania 38 565
aberrant bush warbler cettia flavolivacea 38 570
brownish-flanked bush warbler cettia fortipes 39 574
Yellow-bellied bush warbler cettia acanthizoides 39 580
hume’s bush warbler cettia brunnescens 39 584
Chestnut-crowned bush warbler cettia major 40 587
Grey-sided bush warbler cettia brunnifrons 40 591
manchurian bush warbler cettia canturians 41 595
Japanese bush warbler cettia diphone 41 600
luzon bush warbler cettia seebohmi 42 607
plate page
palau bush warbler cettia annae 42 610
shade warbler cettia parens 42 612
Fiji bush warbler cettia ruficapilla 42 614
tanimbar bush warbler cettia carolinae 42 617
bougainville bush warbler cettia haddeni 42 619
Cetti’s warbler cettia cetti 40 621
appendiCes 628
appendix 1: sources of original descriptions, type localities and synonyms 628
appendix 2: live wing lengths of selected palearctic migrant species 641
appendix 3: principal measurements from museum specimens 646
appendix 4: origins, migration status and moult strategies 656
appendix 5: Comparative field characters of similar species 659
appendix 6: scientific names of other bird species mentioned in the text 671
appendix 7: recent developments to 2010 672
biblioGraphY 676
index 708
FOREWORD
as the authors state, bush warblers and their allies (the quintessential ‘little brown jobs’), with their subdued
colouring and skulking habits, are not everyone’s cup of tea. For equally many though, this group are real
‘birdwatchers’ birds’. how so? birders love a challenge: first, you must find your bird; then you must obtain good
enough views to identify it. on both counts reed and bush warblers are extraordinarily challenging; and some are
hardly less difficult to identify in the hand than in the field. add to this the fascinating behaviour of many species –
the brilliantly varied and mimetic song of the marsh warbler; the extraordinary promiscuity of the aquatic warbler’s
mating system; or the magical ability of a wintering or passage lanceolated warbler, seemingly cornered in short
grass or scrub, to melt away undetected—and you have a recipe for a lifetime’s obsession.
my own fascination with this group began as a schoolboy with my first observations of migrant aquatic warblers
at the edge of a Cornish reedbed. i learned the sublime joys of rising early to commune with these birds that were
usually so hard to see, yet became active and cooperative immediately after dawn. Forward a decade or so to my
first months in thailand, where i found the best way of observing the hitherto unseen author of excited chacking
notes coming from the bushes was to discard binoculars (they didn’t focus close enough), kneel on the ground,
and gently part and peer into the undergrowth. marveling at the small brown feathered creature running mouse-
like over the ground, i made my first acquaintance with a baikal bush warbler.
it goes without saying that reed and bush warblers are inadequately treated by existing field guides, which
cannot give sufficient attention to geographical variation, and age and moult-related plumage variation among
taxa. even some of the latest generation, otherwise generally very high quality books, have misled when it comes,
for example, to the undertail-covert patterns of Bradypterus. up to now, observers have had to work out the best
field marks for themselves, gradually gaining experience as they went along. sometimes it has seemed like one
step back for every two steps forward as hypotheses were tested and either discarded or verified. but gradually, the
pieces of the puzzle are being assembled. the authors of this work have brought their breadth and depth of field
experience in the palaearctic and in both african and asian tropics, their acuity of observation, and their erudition
to bear.
this book is a giant step forward on what has gone before. it is much more than an essential toolkit for
identification as even a rapid perusal of the scholarly yet readable introduction will reveal. this fine work seems
certain to realise the authors’ goal of inspiring future research work on these warblers.
philip round
assistant professor, department of biology, mahidol university, bangkok,
and regional representative, the wetland trust
bangkok, october 2009
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