Basra reed warbler
Acrocephalus griseldis (Hartlaub, 1891)
The basra reed warbler (Acrocephalus griseldis) is a species in the family Acrocephalidae, order Passeriformes. Recorded adults weigh 16.7 g to 31.3 g and live up to 10 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Endangered.
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Quick facts about the basra reed warbler
- Weight
- 16.7 g – 31.3 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 10 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Invertivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 10.1 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- wetlandsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 14.5 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 4.2src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 12 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1.5src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Migratorysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Endangered (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Where does the basra reed warbler live?
Not recorded
What is the basra reed warbler?
The Basra reed warbler (Acrocephalus griseldis) is a "warbler" of the genus Acrocephalus. It is a near-endemic breeder in the Tigris–Euphrates river system in southwestern Iran, eastern and southern Iraq, and Kuwait, though it has also recently colonised wetlands in Israel. It breeds 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 that of a common reed warbler.
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.
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.
From the Wikipedia article “Basra reed warbler” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Basra_reed_warbler&oldid=1379847381), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the basra reed warbler endangered?
The basra reed warbler is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List: it faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Endangered species. What the categories mean.
How is the basra reed warbler classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyAcrocephalidae
- genusAcrocephalus
- SpeciesAcrocephalus griseldis (Hartlaub, 1891)
Synonyms Acrocephalus arundinaceus griseldis, Acrocephalus arundinaceus griseldiss, Acrocephalus babylonicus, Calamoherpe griseldis
Other names and names in other languages (52)
- Basra reed-warblerEnglish
- Basra reed-warblerEnglish
- BarsarietsangerAfrikaans
- BasrarietsangerAfrikaans
- هازجة قصب البصرةArabic
- هازجة القصب البصريةArabic
- Иракско шаварчеBulgarian
- boscarla de BasoraCatalan
- rákosník iráckýCzech
- telor cyrs BasraWelsh
- Basra DrosselrørsangerDanish
- Basra-drosselrørsangerDanish
- BasrarohrsängerGerman
- Basra-RohrsängerGerman
- Τσιχλοποταμίδα της ΒασόραςGreek
- iraka kanbirdoEsperanto
- Carricero de BasoraSpanish
- mesopotaamia roolindEstonian
- سسک نیزار خوزیPersian
- basrankerttunenFinnish
- Rousserolle d'IrakFrench
- Rousserolle de BasraFrench
- Rousserolle d’IrakFrench
- Ceolaire giolcaí basraIrish
- Folosa de BasoraGalician
- קנית בצרהHebrew
- eufráteszi nádirigóHungarian
- ÁlmsöngvariIcelandic
- Cannareccione di BassoraItalian
- バスラオオヨシキリJapanese
- irakinė krakšlėLithuanian
- Basras ķauķisLatvian
- ирачки трскарMacedonian
- BasrakarekietDutch
- mesopotamiasangerNorwegian
- trzciniak perskiPolish
- felosa-iraquianaPortuguese
- rouxinol-dos-caniços-do-iraquePortuguese
- Rouxinol-grande do IraquePortuguese
- rouxinol-grande-do-iraquePortuguese
- Иракская камышевкаRussian
- Евфратская камышовкаRussian
- Иракская камышовкаRussian
- BasranruoššehasNorthern Sami
- trsteniarik irackýSlovak
- dolgokljuni rakarSlovenian
- Irački trstenjakSerbian
- basrasångareSwedish
- Basra KamışçınıTurkish
- очеретянка ірацькаUkrainian
- 巴士拉苇莺Chinese
- 巴斯拉葦鶯Chinese
Relatives of the basra reed warbler
Other species in the same genus Acrocephalus.
Great reed warbler
Acrocephalus arundinaceus
Common reed warbler
Acrocephalus scirpaceus
Sedge warbler
Acrocephalus schoenobaenus
Aquatic warbler
Acrocephalus paludicola
Marsh warbler
Acrocephalus palustris
Blyth's reed warbler
Acrocephalus dumetorum
CompareBasra reed warbler vs Great reed warblerBasra reed warbler vs Common reed warblerBasra reed warbler vs Sedge warblerBasra reed warbler vs Aquatic warbler
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the basra reed warbler?
An adult basra reed warbler weighs 16.7 g – 31.3 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the basra reed warbler endangered?
The basra reed warbler is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, meaning it faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild.
How long does the basra reed warbler live?
The basra reed warbler has a recorded lifespan of 10 years.
What kind of animal is the basra reed warbler?
The basra reed warbler (Acrocephalus griseldis) belongs to the family Acrocephalidae in the order Passeriformes.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Basra reed warbler (Acrocephalus griseldis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/basra-reed-warbler
“Basra reed warbler (Acrocephalus griseldis).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/basra-reed-warbler.
@misc{basra_reed_warbler_2026,
title = {Basra reed warbler (Acrocephalus griseldis)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/basra-reed-warbler},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}