Little Rush Warbler - BirdForum Opus

Alternative names: African Bush-Warbler, African Sedge Warbler

Photo by volker sthamer
Awassa, Ethiopia, September 2010

Bradypterus baboecala

Identification

13–15 cm

• Dark throat streaks
• Short wings
• Graduated tail
• Slim bill

Distribution

Africa
Western Africa: Ghana, Togo, Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Congo, Angola
Eastern Africa: South Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Zambia, Mozambique, Malawi
Southern Africa: Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, South Africa, KwaZulu-Natal, Lesotho, eSwatini

Taxonomy

Subspecies

Clements recognizes 10 subspecies^[1]:

• B. b. centralis:

• Nigeria to southern Cameroon, north-eastern Zaire, Burundi, Rwanda, south-western Uganda

• B. b. chadensis:

• Western Chad

• B. b. sudanensis:

• South Sudan and western Ethiopia

• B. b. abyssinicus:

• Ethiopia

• B. b. elgonensis:

• Highlands of western and central Kenya and south-eastern Uganda

• B. b. tongensis (moreaui):

• South-eastern Kenya to Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique and Natal

• B. b. benguellensis:

• Western Angola

• B. b. msiri (bedfordi):

• Eastern Angola to Zambia, south-eastern Zaire (Shaba) and north-eastern Botswana

• B. b. transvaalensis:

• Central Zimbabwe to western eSwatini, Transvaal, Lesotho and western Natal

• B. b. baboecala:

• Southern South Africa (east to Great Kei River)

Gill and Donsker and Dickinson split Highland Rush Warbler from this species (including centralis and elgonensis by both and sudanensis and chadensis by Dickinson only). Furthermore the given ranges of the subspecies differ significantly.

Habitat

Swamps, wetlands, reed and sedge beds

Behaviour

Normally skulkers, these birds sometimes call from higher up on bulrushes or reeds.

Diet

Their diet mostly consists of small insects and ant eggs.

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2017. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2017, with updates to August 2017. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Avibase
3. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved October 2014)

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Little Rush Warbler. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 15 January 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Little_Rush_Warbler

External Links

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