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Species of the month[edit]
Aquatic Warbler[edit]
Some facts on this bird:
Length: 12-13 cm.
Weight: Aproximately 12 grams.
Habitat: Breeds in lowland marshes.
Range: Europe and western Siberia; migrates to tropical West Africa in winter.
Surviving number: Estimated at 13,000 to 21,000 singing males.
First described: By the French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot in 1817.
Acrocephalus paludicola is a singer with an appetite for insects. The males' distinctive song rings out at dawn and dusk throughout the breeding season. Females have two annual broods; they incubate and alone care for their young. They rely on an abundance of large insects and spiders to feed the chicks. These birds stay out of sight, skulking quietly in low vegetation. Loss of breeding habitat has reduced dramatically the population of the aquatic warbler, and its conservation status is considered vulnerable (IUCN 3.1). The genus Acrocephalus or "Marsh-Warblers" includes about 40 species and belongs to the "Reed Warblers and Allies" family Acrocephalidae.
(Archived from Template:Species of the week)