River Warbler

Warbler

The Warbler ( Locustella fluviatilis) is a passerine bird of the genus Schwirle ( Locustella ) and the family of the warbler -like ( Sylviidae ). In East Central Europe it is a common and common breeding and summer bird. To the west of Central Europe it is a sporadic but regular migrant area as well as sporadically summer guest. The westernmost breeding records in Germany come from Hesse. In Bavaria it grows increasingly the river valleys of the Inn, Isar, Danube and Main.

Features

The 14.5 to 16 centimeters long Warbler is a fairly large Schwirl with a broad, rounded tail. The top is stained ungestreift olive brown. Throat and chest, however, have dark faded stripes. The underside is dirty white with olive-brown flanks. The head has an indistinct off-white over eye-streak and a bright eye-ring. The olive-brown under tail cover has a broad whitish tip. The beak is quite dark and pink legs. The male sits to sing in five to eight meters high on a tree. After the song, it can be like a stone fall to the ground to immediately submerge in the dense vegetation. Song of the Schlagschwirls consists of a series wetzender machine -like, separated true increasing syllables like " dze - dze - dze " and is reminiscent of a large grasshopper. Most often he can be heard in the late evening and early morning hours. At the beginning of the breeding season he sings even in complete darkness.

The Warbler feeds on the imagines and larvae of small to medium-sized insects, spiders, and sometimes other small animals. The foraging takes place both on the ground and in the herb and shrub layer.

Occurrence

The breeding range extends from western Siberia to eastern Central Europe. In recent decades, the breeding area continues to spread in the West. The Warbler is a long-distance migrant, the winter quarters of the Schlagschwirls are located in the tropical East Africa. He wintered there in an area that extends from Zambia and Malawi to the Transvaal and in the west to Botswana. The train in this wintering areas takes place in a south- southeasterly direction and runs through the east of the Mediterranean, to northeast Africa and the Arabian Peninsula through Kenya. The exodus to the Überwinterungsqartierte begins in July to August and in December they have reached their winter quarters. They stay there until at least mid-March and the first Schlagschwirle that breed in southern Central Europe, reach their breeding areas from the second half of April. In Germany they rarely come to the end of April.

The Warbler nests at the edge of undergrowth rich Au and swamp forests, meadows and marshes. He needs privacy and freedom of movement upwards downwards. In addition, he needs bushes and trees as Sing waiting.

Reproduction

Schlagschwirle lead a monogamous marriage season. Upon arrival in the breeding area the courtship and pair formation takes place at the hatchery. The nest is generally built near the Sing wait first used by the male on the ground. It is mainly or even exclusively built by the female. The nest usually consists of four to six eggs, which are each placed in a planting distance of less than a day. Incubation period is thirteen to sixteen days and both parents are involved in the breeding birds. The nestling period is eleven to fourteen days and the nestlings are fed by both parents birds.

Stock

Among the countries with a large population of Schlagschwirlen include Poland and Hungary, where each 50,000 to 80,000 or 40000-75000 breeding pairs nest. The breeding pair inventory for Germany is 3,500 10.000 pairs, while in Austria 4000 to 8000 pairs.