Marsh warbler
Acrocephalus palustris (Bechstein, 1798)
The marsh warbler (Acrocephalus palustris) is a bird in the family Acrocephalidae, part of the order Passeriformes and the group of songbirds and other perching birds. It is a small bird with an adult body mass of 11.5 g, up to 12.6 g, and a wingspan of 20 cm.
Quick facts about the marsh warbler
The marsh warbler is a migratory, perching invertivore of shrubland, with a geographic range of 5,997,000 km². It lays one clutch per year of 4.4 eggs, which are incubated for 11.5 days, and it is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
- Weight
- 11.5 g – 12.6 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 20 cmsrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- 9 years – 9.8 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Invertivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- shrublandsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 11.5 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 3.9 – 4.41src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 12 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Migratorysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the marsh warbler?
Photos of the marsh warbler
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Where does the marsh warbler live?
Not recorded
What is the marsh warbler?
The marsh warbler (Acrocephalus palustris) is an Old World warbler currently classified in the family Acrocephalidae. It breeds in temperate Europe and the western Palearctic and winters mainly in southeast Africa. It is notable for incorporating striking imitations of a wide variety of other birds into its song.
The marsh warbler breeds in a variety of mostly damp habitats, but in Africa winters mainly in dry, well-vegetated areas. It is common over much of its breeding range and expanding its distribution in some areas. However, in Britain it is now virtually extinct as a breeding bird, though the reasons for its decline are unclear. This insectivorous warbler can be easily confused with several close relatives, but the imitative song of the male is highly distinctive.
From the Wikipedia article “Marsh warbler” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Marsh_warbler&oldid=1357293464), 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 marsh warbler sound like?
Is the marsh warbler endangered?
The marsh 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 marsh warbler classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyAcrocephalidae
- genusAcrocephalus
- SpeciesAcrocephalus palustris (Bechstein, 1798)
Synonyms Acrocephalus palustris palustris, Calamodyta palustris, Calamoherpe musica, Calamoherpe palustris, Calamoherpe philomela, Calamoherpe pratensis, Calamoherpe salicaria, Herbicola palustris, Motacilla camtschatkensis, Motacilla s, Notiocichla palustris, Salicaria macronyx, Salicaria palustris, Sylvia fruticola, Sylvia palustris
Other names and names in other languages (62)
- Europese RietsangerAfrikaans
- هازجة البطائحArabic
- هازجة المستنقعArabic
- هازجة المستنقعاتArabic
- Балотная чаротаўкаBelarusian
- Чаротаўка балотнаяBelarusian
- Мочурно шаварчеBulgarian
- Rouzegan-geunBreton
- boscarla menjamosquitsCatalan
- Шурлӑх хӑмӑш кайӑкӗChuvash
- rákosník zpěvnýCzech
- Telor GwerniWelsh
- telor y gwerniWelsh
- Telorion y GwerniWelsh
- KærsangerDanish
- SumpfrohrsängerGerman
- ΒαλτοποταμίδαGreek
- marĉa kanbirdoEsperanto
- Carricero políglotaSpanish
- soo-roolindEstonian
- putke-roolindEstonian
- soo-roolind e. putke-roolindEstonian
- سسک تالابی زیتونیPersian
- luhtakerttunenFinnish
- FenljómariFaroese
- rousserolle verderolleFrench
- Ceolaire corraighIrish
- Kiaulleyder ny curreeynManx
- קנית ביצותHebrew
- énekes nádiposzátaHungarian
- SeljusöngvariIcelandic
- Cannaiola verdognolaItalian
- ヌマヨシキリJapanese
- Саз айқабағыKazakh
- SuppejäizertLuxembourgish
- karklinė nendrinukėLithuanian
- purva ķauķisLatvian
- блатен трскарMacedonian
- bosrietzangerDutch
- myrsongarNorwegian Nynorsk
- myrsangerNorwegian
- łozówkaPolish
- felosa-palustrePortuguese
- Lăcar de mlaştinăRomanian
- Lăcar de mlaștinăRomanian
- Болотная камышевкаRussian
- Болотная камышовкаRussian
- JeaggeruoššehasNorthern Sami
- Trsteniarik spevavýSlovak
- trsteniarik obyčajnýSlovak
- močvirska trstnicaSlovenian
- çika e verdhemeAlbanian
- bilbilthi i kënetaveAlbanian
- bilbilthi i verdhemëAlbanian
- трстењак млакарSerbian
- Trstenjak mlakarSerbian
- kärrsångareSwedish
- çalı kamışçınıTurkish
- Чагарникова очеретянкаUkrainian
- очеретянка чагарниковаUkrainian
- 湿地苇莺Chinese
- 濕地葦鶯Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the marsh 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
Blyth's reed warbler
Acrocephalus dumetorum
Paddyfield warbler
Acrocephalus agricola
CompareMarsh warbler vs Great reed warblerMarsh warbler vs Common reed warblerMarsh warbler vs Sedge warblerMarsh warbler vs Aquatic 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 marsh warbler?
The marsh warbler is a bird in the family Acrocephalidae and the order Passeriformes, grouped with songbirds and other perching birds.
How big is the marsh warbler?
It is a small bird weighing 11.5 g, up to 12.6 g, with a wingspan of 20 cm.
What does the marsh warbler eat?
The marsh warbler is an invertivore, and its trophic level is carnivore.
Where does the marsh warbler live?
It lives in shrubland and is a migratory bird with a geographic range of 5,997,000 km².
Is the marsh warbler endangered?
No. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
How long does the marsh warbler live?
The marsh warbler has a lifespan of 9 years, with values up to 9.8 years reported.
How many eggs does the marsh warbler lay?
It lays 4.4 eggs per clutch and one clutch per year, with an incubation period of 11.5 days.
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). Marsh warbler (Acrocephalus palustris). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/marsh-warbler
“Marsh warbler (Acrocephalus palustris).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/marsh-warbler.
@misc{marsh_warbler_2026,
title = {Marsh warbler (Acrocephalus palustris)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/marsh-warbler},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}