Family Grasshopper-warblers and Grassbirds (Locustellidae)
Least Concern
Lanceolated Warbler (Locustella lanceolata)
Taxonomy
French: Locustelle lancéolée German: Strichelschwirl Spanish: Buscarla lanceolada
Taxonomy:
Sylvia lanceolata
Temminck
, 1840,Mainz, Germany, error = Russia
.
Subspecies and Distribution
L. l. lanceolata
(Temminck, 1840) – SE Finland, Russia (Karelia, and from Perm and W Urals E to lower R Kolyma, S Kamchatka and Sea of Okhotsk, and S to Altai, Amurland and Ussuriland), N Mongolia and NE China; probably N Korea#R. Winters in NE Indian Subcontinent, Andamans and Nicobars, SE Asia and N Philippines S to Sumatra and W Java.
L. l. hendersonii
(Cassin, 1858) – Sakhalin, Kurils and N Japan (Hokkaido); winters in SE Asia.
Descriptive notes
12–13·5 cm; 9–13 g. Smallest and most heavily marked Locustella. Nominate race has top of head olive-brown with blackish spotting, side of head... read more
Voice
Song a continuous thin reeling, with “ventriloquial” effect as bird turns its head; individual... read more
Habitat
Damp valleys, especially by streams and on lake and marsh edges, open meadows with scattered bushes... read more
Food and feeding
Adult and larval insects, especially beetles (Coleoptera) and ants (Hymenoptera); also spiders (Araneae); seeds also taken. Forages on... read more
Breeding
Laying begins mid-Jun in Transbaikalia and late Jun in C Siberia. Solitary, territorial. Nest a deep thick-walled cup of dry grass, leaves... read more
Movements
Long-distance migrant. Non-breeding grounds extend from NE Indian Subcontinent E to Myanmar and... read more
Status and conservation
Not globally threatened (Least Concern). Locally common throughout large Siberian breeding range; common also in N Japan (Hokkaido). Population in extreme W of range (W of... read more
Forms a group with L. fluviatilis and L. luscinioides, as confirmed by DNA studies#R; these three also have close affinities to several Asian species formerly placed in Bradypterus. Race gigantea (Shaweishan I, E China) is synonym of hendersonii. Two subspecies recognized.