Mangrove Reed Warbler???

[Ilya Maclean]

I'm heading a team of birders doing surveys of forests and coastal habitats in southern Tanzania. Two of my Tanzanian team members discovered a mystery Acrocephalus warbler in mangroves near to Kilwa Masoko. We've all subsequently seen the bird several times and at several locations, have caught two, obtained blood samples, photographs and sound recordings. We all believe it may be new to science.

However, I’m aware of a species / subspecies of reed warbler, Mangrove Reed Warbler Acrocephalus (scirpaceus) avicenniae, which inhabits mangroves around the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden coasts. I know very little about this species and have limited access to literature out here in Tanzania. I wondered if anybody would be kind enough to share photos, vocal recordings or descriptions of this species/sub-species as it is possible that our warbler is just a previously undiscovered population of this species/sub-species.

I can send photos and/or recordings of ours upon request.

Thanks in advance for any help

Ilya

[robert]

Hi Ilya.

This sounds like very interesting research you are carrying out! I have looked into the mangrove reed warbler but have found nothing at all. It is listed but I cant find any info on it. There is some info on the African reed warbler (Acrocephalus baeticatus) , but I am not sure this is what you are looking for. Could you send some photos of your mystery bird? Thanks.

All the best with your research,
Robert

Some useful links?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_Reed-warbler

[Mike Edgecombe]

I visited SW Saudi Arabia in May 2002. I also saw a few reed warbler sp at one site which we presumed to be African reed warbler in the mangroves along the coast. I wish I had examined them more closley as there is also specualtion that the birds here are a race of Sykes warbler! I have a short bit of video of one bird and in the background there is some, song too. I may well upload this to IBC site run by Josep del Hoyo in the coming months. Is this of interest to you?

[Ilya Maclean]

I visited SW Saudi Arabia in May 2002. I also saw a few reed warbler sp at one site which we presumed to be African reed warbler in the mangroves along the coast. I wish I had examined them more closley as there is also specualtion that the birds here are a race of Sykes warbler! I have a short bit of video of one bird and in the background there is some, song too. I may well upload this to IBC site run by Josep del Hoyo in the coming months. Is this of interest to you?

Hi Robert & Mike

Thanks for your input. It would be great help to see / hear the video. I'm returning to the UK the day after tomorrow and will post photos and sound recordings on my website.

My understanding is that Mangrove Reed Warbler was (formerly) considered a subspecies of African Reed Warbler (A. baeticatus), but the big Leisler et al. review of the phylogeny of acros, put it closer to European Reed Warbler and considered it a possible split, further suggested by Dutch Birding Vol. 19, nr. , 1997, p. 297.

Ours most closely resembles African Reed Warbler in appearance, but is slighly smaller, has a proportionally longer and heavier bill, less distinctive super, generally paler underparts and a song that resembles European more than African, but differs from both.

Analyses of our blood samples will sort it out one way or the other, but as I would need to raise funding to do this, it would be useful to gain a preliminary insight.

Cheers

Ilya

[Brian S]

Ilya

Peter Kennerley, David Pearson and I are in the last stages of our monograph on the reed and bush warblers of the world for A&C Blacks. We have examined all of the existing specimens of avicennae, which are currently treated as a form of African Reed, but would be most interested in any images or recordings you have of these birds.

I can tell you, form my own examination of the specimens, that avicennae is a smaller version of fuscus, with a greyer head than scirpaceus, but with a much shorter primary projection and tail.

Brian S

[Thalisman]

Comming across this thread I remembered a Reed Warbler that I saw at Sabaki River Mouth north of Mombasa, Kenya on 23 June 2009.
I heard what sounded like the song of European Reed Warbler from some of the denser mangroves and was able to get a few record shots of the bird, after heavy pishing.
Given the time of year and habitat I had thought about the avicenniae race of African Reed Warbler, which occurs further north in coastal Somalia, but wasn't able to find much info at the time.
Was the blood samples from the bird in Tanzania, mentioned by Ilya Maclean, tested in any way, to give a clue about identification?

Jens