Common grasshopper warbler
Locustella naevia (Boddaert, 1783)
The common grasshopper warbler (Locustella naevia) is a bird in the songbirds and other perching birds subgroup, belonging to the family Locustellidae in the order Passeriformes. It is a small, migratory invertivore of shrubland, with an adult body mass of 13.3 g and a wingspan of 17 cm.
Quick facts about the common grasshopper warbler
It reaches sexual maturity at 1 year, lays 5.5 eggs per clutch with 1.5 clutches per year, and has a lifespan of 5.4 years, with values up to 5.9 years reported. The IUCN Red List assesses it as Least Concern, which is not a threatened category, and its geographic range covers 7,985,000 km².
- Weight
- 13 g – 13.3 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- 13 cmsrc for Length
- Wingspan
- 17 cmsrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- 5.36 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Invertivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 5.92 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- shrublandsrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- 5.5src 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
- Reproduction
- Eggssrc for Reproduction
- Lifestyle
- Generalistsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Migratorysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the common grasshopper warbler?
Photos of the common grasshopper warbler
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
Where does the common grasshopper warbler live?
Not recorded
What is the common grasshopper warbler?
The common grasshopper warbler or just grasshopper warbler (Locustella naevia) is a species of Old World warbler in the genus Locustella. It breeds across much of temperate Europe and the western Palearctic. It is migratory, wintering across northern tropical Africa just south of the Sahara, and also locally in India.
This small passerine bird is found in dense grassland vegetation, often close to water, and usually with a few small scattered shrubs. It is a medium-sized warbler about 13 cm (5 in) long. The adult has a streaked brown back and whitish grey underparts which are unstreaked except on the undertail coverts. The sexes are identical, as with most warblers, but young birds are yellower below. Like most warblers, it is insectivorous. Four to seven eggs are laid in a nest on or near the ground in thick vegetation or in a tussock of grass.
This is a species which skulks in the undergrowth, creeping through bushes and low foliage, and which is very difficult to see except when singing from a prominent position. The song, which gives this species its name, is a mechanical grasshopper-like reeling, often given at dawn or dusk.
From the Wikipedia article “Common grasshopper warbler” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Common_grasshopper_warbler&oldid=1361101315), 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.
What does the common grasshopper warbler sound like?
Is the common grasshopper warbler endangered?
The common grasshopper warbler is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- 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 Least Concern species.
How is the common grasshopper warbler classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyLocustellidae
- genusLocustella
- SpeciesLocustella naevia (Boddaert, 1783)
Synonyms Acrocephalus fluviatilis, Calamoherpe locustella, Calamoherpe tenuirostris, Curruca locustella, Dilara locustella, Locustella anthirostris, Locustella avicula, Locustella locustella, Locustella rayi, Locustella vera anthirostris, Locustella vera fruticeti, Locustella vera major, Locustella vera tenuirostris, Motacilla naevia, Muscipeta locustella, Muscipeta olivacea, Parnopia locustella, Psithyredus locustella, Salicaria locustella, Sibilatrix locustella, Sylvia locustella, Threnetria naevia
Other names and names in other languages (69)
- Common grasshopper-warblerEnglish
- Grasshopper warblerEnglish
- هازجة الجرادArabic
- هازجة الجنادبArabic
- هازجة الجندبArabic
- هازجة جندبية شائعةArabic
- chicharraAsturian
- Звычайны цвыркунBelarusian
- Полски цвъркачBulgarian
- FouinBreton
- Fouin-skrilhBreton
- boscaler pintat grosCatalan
- Уй шӑрчӑк кайӑкӗChuvash
- cvrčilka zelenáCzech
- Troellwr BachWelsh
- Troellwyr BachWelsh
- GræshoppesangerDanish
- FeldschwirlGerman
- HeuschreckenrohrsängerGerman
- HeuschreckensängerGerman
- ΘαμνοτριλιστήςGreek
- makula lokusteloEsperanto
- Buscarla pintojaSpanish
- võsa-ritsiklindEstonian
- سسک ملخیPersian
- pensassirkkalintuFinnish
- UrniljómariFaroese
- Locustelle tachetéeFrench
- Ceolaire casarnaíIrish
- ÒranaicheScottish Gaelic
- ceileiricheScottish Gaelic
- ceileiricheanScottish Gaelic
- Folosa manchadaGalician
- ReeleyderManx
- חרגולן מנומרHebrew
- pjegavi cvrčićCroatian
- réti tücsökmadárHungarian
- Ճռիկահավ սովորականArmenian
- EngisöngvariIcelandic
- Forapaglie macchiettatoItalian
- ヤチセンニュウJapanese
- Кәдімгі шырылдақKazakh
- Gwygh-awhesythCornish
- SchwirrelLuxembourgish
- margasis žiogelisLithuanian
- kārklu ķauķisLatvian
- полски трскарMacedonian
- പുൽക്കുരുവിMalayalam
- SprinkhaanzangerDutch
- grashoppesongarNorwegian Nynorsk
- gresshoppesangerNorwegian
- Świerszczak zwyczajnyPolish
- ŚwierszczakPolish
- świerszczak (zwyczajny)Polish
- Felosa-malhadaPortuguese
- cigarrinha-malhadaPortuguese
- Greluşel pătatRomanian
- Обыкновенный сверчокRussian
- MiesttašurrevizarNorthern Sami
- rásselohkkovizarNorthern Sami
- svrčiak zelenkavýSlovak
- kobiličarSlovenian
- Cvrčić tršćarSerbian
- gräshoppsångareSwedish
- gräshoppssångareSwedish
- Çekirge KamışçınıTurkish
- кобилочка-цвіркунUkrainian
- 黑斑蝗莺Chinese
- 黑斑蝗鶯Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the common grasshopper warbler
Other species in the same genus Locustella.
Savi's warbler
Locustella luscinioides
River warbler
Locustella fluviatilis
Lanceolated warbler
Locustella lanceolata
Chinese bush warbler
Locustella tacsanowskia
Spotted bush warbler
Locustella thoracica
Brown bush warbler
Locustella luteoventris
CompareCommon grasshopper warbler vs Savi's warblerCommon grasshopper warbler vs River warblerCommon grasshopper warbler vs Lanceolated warblerCommon grasshopper warbler vs Chinese bush warbler
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the common grasshopper warbler?
It is a bird in the songbirds and other perching birds subgroup, in the family Locustellidae of the order Passeriformes.
How big is the common grasshopper warbler?
It is a small bird with an adult body mass of 13.3 g and a wingspan of 17 cm.
What does the common grasshopper warbler eat?
It is an invertivore, and its trophic level is carnivore.
Is the common grasshopper warbler endangered?
No. The IUCN Red List assesses it as Least Concern, which is not a threatened category.
How long does the common grasshopper warbler live?
Its lifespan is 5.4 years, with values up to 5.9 years reported by sources.
How many eggs does the common grasshopper warbler lay?
It lays 5.5 eggs per clutch, with 1.5 clutches per year, and reaches sexual maturity at 1 year.
What habitat does the common grasshopper warbler use?
Its habitat is shrubland, and it is a migratory bird with a generalist foraging lifestyle.
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). Common grasshopper warbler (Locustella naevia). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-grasshopper-warbler
“Common grasshopper warbler (Locustella naevia).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-grasshopper-warbler.
@misc{common_grasshopper_warbler_2026,
title = {Common grasshopper warbler (Locustella naevia)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-grasshopper-warbler},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}