Acrocephalus
Great reed warbler, Acrocephalus arundinaceus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Acrocephalidae
Genus:	Acrocephalus J. A. Naumann and J. F. Naumann, 1811
Species
About 35, see text.

The Acrocephalus warblers are small, insectivorous passerine birds belonging to the genus Acrocephalus. Formerly in the paraphyletic Old World warbler assemblage, they are now separated as the namesake of the marsh and tree warbler family Acrocephalidae. They are sometimes called marsh warblers or reed warblers, but this invites confusion with marsh warbler and reed warbler proper, especially in North America, where it is common to use lower case for bird species.

These are rather drab brownish warblers usually associated with marshes or other wetlands. Some are streaked, others plain. Many species breeding in temperate regions are migratory.

This genus has heavily diversified into many species throughout islands across the tropical Pacific. This in turn has led to many of the resulting insular endemic species to become endangered. Several of these species (including all but one of the species endemic to the Marianas and two endemic to French Polynesia) have already gone extinct.

The most enigmatic species of the genus, the large-billed reed warbler (A. orinus), was rediscovered in Thailand in March, 2006; it was found also in a remote corner of Afghanistan in the summer of 2009. Prior to these recent sightings, it had been found only once before, in 1867.

Many species have a flat head profile, which gives rise to the group's scientific name. The genus name Acrocephalus is from Ancient Greek akros, "highest", and kephale, "head". It is possible that Naumann and Naumann thought akros meant "sharp-pointed".^[1]

List of species in taxonomic order[edit]

This Eurasian reed warbler is raising the young of a common cuckoo.

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  Moustached warbler, Acrocephalus melanopogon
  


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  Aquatic warbler, Acrocephalus paludicola
  


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  Sedge warbler, Acrocephalus schoenobaenus
  


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  Speckled reed warbler, Acrocephalus sorghophilus
  


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  Black-browed reed warbler, Acrocephalus bistrigiceps
  


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  Paddyfield warbler, Acrocephalus agricola
  


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  Manchurian reed warbler, Acrocephalus tangorum (sometimes included in A. agricola)


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  Blunt-winged warbler, Acrocephalus concinens
  


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  Eurasian reed warbler, Acrocephalus scirpaceus
  


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  African reed warbler, Acrocephalus baeticatus
  


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  Blyth's reed warbler, Acrocephalus dumetorum
  


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  Marsh warbler, Acrocephalus palustris
  


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  Great reed warbler, Acrocephalus arundinaceus
  


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  Oriental reed warbler, Acrocephalus orientalis
  


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  Clamorous reed warbler, Acrocephalus stentoreus
  


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  Large-billed reed warbler, Acrocephalus orinus
  


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  Basra reed warbler, Acrocephalus griseldis
  


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  Australian reed warbler, Acrocephalus australis
  


• †Nightingale reed warbler, Acrocephalus luscinius
  


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  Saipan reed warbler, Acrocephalus hiwae
  


• †Aguiguan reed warbler, Acrocephalus nijoi
  


• †Pagan reed warbler, Acrocephalus yamashinae
  


• †Mangareva reed warbler, Acrocephalus astrolabii
  


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  Carolinian reed warbler, Acrocephalus syrinx
  


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  Nauru reed warbler, Acrocephalus rehsei
  


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  Millerbird, Acrocephalus familiaris
  


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  Bokikokiko, Acrocephalus aequinoctialis
  


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  Tahiti reed warbler, Acrocephalus caffer
  


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  Moorea reed warbler, Acrocephalus longirostris
  


• †Garrett's reed warbler, Acrocephalus musae
  


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  Tuamotu reed warbler, Acrocephalus atyphus
  


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  Rimatara reed warbler, Acrocephalus rimatarae
  


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  Pitcairn reed warbler, Acrocephalus vaughani
  


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  Henderson reed warbler, Acrocephalus taiti
  


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  Northern Marquesan reed warbler, Acrocephalus percernis
  


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  Southern Marquesan reed warbler, Acrocephalus mendanae
  


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  Cook reed warbler, Acrocephalus kerearako
  


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  Greater swamp warbler, Acrocephalus rufescens
  


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  Cape Verde warbler, Acrocephalus brevipennis
  


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  Lesser swamp warbler, Acrocephalus gracilirostris
  


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  Madagascar swamp warbler, Acrocephalus newtoni
  


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  Rodrigues warbler, Acrocephalus rodericanus
  


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  Seychelles warbler, Acrocephalus sechellensis
  

Fragmentary fossil remains from the Late Miocene (about 11 mya) of Rudabánya (NE Hungary) show some apomorphies typical of this genus.^[2] Given its rather early age (most Passerida genera are not known until the Pliocene), it is not too certain that it is correctly placed here, but it is highly likely to belong to the Acrocephalidae at the least.

References[edit]

Further reading[edit]

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  Olsson, U.; Rguibi-Idrissi, H.; Copete, J.L.; Arroyo Matos, J.L.; Provost, P.; Amezian, M.; Alström, P.; Jiguet, F. (2016). "Mitochondrial phylogeny of the Eurasian/African reed warbler complex (Acrocephalus, Aves). Disagreement between morphological and molecular evidence and cryptic divergence: A case for resurrecting Calamoherpe ambigua Brehm 1857". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 102: 30–44. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2016.05.026.
  

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Acrocephalus.

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  Acrocephalus videos on the Internet Bird Collection