Grasshopper Warbler
Locustella naeviaJFMAMJJASOND
Sounds like an insect or a fishing reel, not a bird. It's very high-pitched, and some people can't hear it at all.
Birds / Warblers
Grasshopper Warbler
Locustella naeviaAlso known as Common grasshopper warbler
Recording: Noé Ferrari / xeno-canto
Sounds like
A long, dry, even reeling, like a fishing line being wound in, that can run for a minute or more and seems to fade as the bird turns its head.
Remember it
Sounds like an insect or a fishing reel, not a bird. It's very high-pitched, and some people can't hear it at all.
When and where
Listening for the grasshopper warbler
- Heard
- JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecApr to Jul
- Time of day
- Dawn, Dusk and Night
- Where
- Wetland, Heath, Farmland
- In Britain
- Summer visitor
- Family
- Warblers
Strictly speaking, this is a grass warbler (family Locustellidae). We keep all the warblers together on Warble UK because they're easiest to learn side by side, by ear.
Side by side
Often confused with
Play them one after the other and listen for the difference.
Could you pick out a grasshopper warbler?
Hear a song, choose from four birds, and build your streak.
Same habitat
Also in wetland
Cuckoo
Cuculus canorusJFMAMJJASOND
The male's soft, far-carrying 'cuck-oo', the second note lower, repeated again and again.
Cetti's Warbler
Cettia cettiJFMAMJJASOND
A sudden, explosive burst of loud notes, 'chee! chewee-chewee-chewee!', from deep in a bush, then silence.
Reed Warbler
Acrocephalus scirpaceusJFMAMJJASOND
A steady, rhythmic chatter of repeated notes, 'chrr-chrr-chirruc-chirruc', like a slow engine ticking over in the reeds.