Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler
Encyclopedia
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
.
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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 sought after species among UK "twitchers".
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. The white tips are the reason for its colloquial, mnenomic name of "PG Tips
".
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
.
Note that the sixth edition of Clements checklist refers to this species as "Pallas's Warbler", a name more commonly used for Phylloscopus proregulus
Old World warbler
The "Old World Warblers" is the name used to describe a large group of birds formerly grouped together in the bird family Sylviidae. The family held over 400 species in over 70 genera, and were the source of much taxonomic confusion. Two families were split out initially, the cisticolas into...
in the grass warbler
Grass warbler
The grass-warblers are small passerine birds belonging to the genus Locustella. Formerly placed in the paraphyletic "Old World warbler" assemblage, they are now considered the northernmost representatives of a largely Gondwanan family, the Locustellidae.These are rather drab brownish "warblers"...
genus Locustella. It breeds in east Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
. It is migratory
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
, wintering from India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
east to Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
.
Passerine
A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...
bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
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
Vagrancy (biology)
Vagrancy is a phenomenon in biology whereby individual animals appear well outside their normal range; individual animals which exhibit vagrancy are known as vagrants. The term accidental is sometimes also used...
to western Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. One of the best places to see this skulking species as a vagrant is Fair Isle
Fair Isle
Fair Isle is an island in northern Scotland, lying around halfway between mainland Shetland and the Orkney islands. It is famous for its bird observatory and a traditional style of knitting.-Geography:...
, Shetland
Shetland Islands
Shetland is a subarctic archipelago of Scotland that lies north and east of mainland Great Britain. The islands lie some to the northeast of Orkney and southeast of the Faroe Islands and form part of the division between the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the North Sea to the east. The total...
; for a species that only rarely appears in western Europe, it can be found there with some regularity. This has made it a sought after species among UK "twitchers".
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
Grasshopper Warbler
The Grasshopper Warbler, Locustella naevia, is an Old World warbler in the grass warbler genus Locustella. It breeds across much of temperate Europe and Asia. It is migratory, wintering from northwest Africa to India....
, but is slightly larger, has white tips to the tail and tertial feathers, and a warmer brown rump. The white tips are the reason for its colloquial, mnenomic name of "PG Tips
PG Tips
PG Tips is a brand of tea in the United Kingdom, manufactured by Unilever UK. It is claimed that Britons drink 35 million cups of the tea every day.-Brand name:...
".
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
Grasshopper Warbler
The Grasshopper Warbler, Locustella naevia, is an Old World warbler in the grass warbler genus Locustella. It breeds across much of temperate Europe and Asia. It is migratory, wintering from northwest Africa to India....
and some other Locustella warblers, but an inventive Acrocephalus-like melody.
This bird was named after the German zoologist Peter Simon Pallas
Peter Simon Pallas
Peter Simon Pallas was a German zoologist and botanist who worked in Russia.- Life and work :Pallas was born in Berlin, the son of Professor of Surgery Simon Pallas. He studied with private tutors and took an interest in natural history, later attending the University of Halle and the University...
.
Note that the sixth edition of Clements checklist refers to this species as "Pallas's Warbler", a name more commonly used for Phylloscopus proregulus