Oriental Reed Warbler

The Oriental reed warbler is a large warbler of eastern Asia, 18–20 cm long with a wingspan of 23–26 cm. The plumage is brown above with a paler rump and whitish tips to the tail feathers, whitish below and browner on the flanks and undertail coverts, with narrow greyish streaks on the throat and breast, a dark eyestripe and a whitish stripe above the eye; the pale tail tip separates it from similar species (Wikipedia, general species account).

It breeds across southern Siberia, Mongolia, northern, central and eastern China, Korea and Japan, mainly in reedbeds, and winters across Southeast Asia, including Vietnam, to the Philippines and Indonesia, occasionally reaching New Guinea and Australia. It forages for insects and other invertebrates in marshes, paddy fields, grassland and scrub as well. The song is a mixture of warbling phrases and guttural, croaking notes, with a loud, harsh chack call. Two to six eggs are incubated for 12 to 14 days.