Basra reed warbler

Basra reed warbler
Conservation status
	; Endangered (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Acrocephalidae
Genus:	Acrocephalus
Species:	A. griseldis
Binomial name
	Acrocephalus griseldis; (Hartlaub, 1891)
	Distribution of Basra reed warbler Breeding Non-breeding

The Basra reed warbler (Acrocephalus griseldis) is a "warbler" of the genus Acrocephalus. It is an endemic breeder in the Tigris–Euphrates river system in southwestern Iran, eastern and southern Iraq, Kuwait, though has also recently colonised wetlands in Israel^[2] in extensive beds of papyrus and reeds. It is easily mistaken for the great reed warbler but is a bit smaller, has whiter underparts and has a narrower, longer and more pointed bill. It is migratory, wintering in East Africa. It is a very rare vagrant in Europe. The call is a gruff chaar, deeper than a reed warbler's.

It is found in aquatic vegetation in or around shallow, fresh or brackish water, still or flowing, mainly in dense reedbeds. It is found in thickets and bushland when migrating or wintering.

In 2007, the species was discovered as a breeding bird in northern Israel.^[3]^[4]

Due to the drainage of the Mesopotamian marshes throughout the 1980s and the 1990s, and the subsequent near destruction of its native habitat, the Basra reed warbler is considered an endangered species.^[5]

References

^ BirdLife International (2017). "Acrocephalus griseldis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017: e.T22714757A118739069. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T22714757A118739069.en. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
^ "Basra Reed-warbler returns... To Israel". Archived from the original on 2010-05-14. Retrieved 2007-08-23.
^ Basra Reed Warblers Breeding in Israel
^ "Basra Reed-warbler returns... to Israel". Archived from the original on 2010-05-14. Retrieved 2007-08-23.
^ Jabbar, M. T., & Jingxuan, Z. (2013). Environmental degradation assessment in arid areas; a case study from Basra province, southern Iraq. Environmental Earth Sciences, 70(5), 2203–2214.