Clamorous Reed Warbler Acrocephalus stentoreus Scientific name definitions

Curruca stentorea Ehrenberg, 1833, Symbolae Physicae, Avium Decas I, folio bb and note 2.—Damietta (= Dumyat), Lower Egypt.

Previously considered endemic to Egypt, from the Nile Delta and Suez Canal south to Lake Nasser and wetlands at the border with northern Sudan; probably also breeds at some or all of El Faiyum, Wadi el Rayan, and the Dakhla and Bahariya oases, in the Western Desert (2 Goodman, S. M., P. L. Meininger, and W. C. Mullié (1986). The Birds of the Egyptian Western Desert. Miscellaneous Publications Museum of Zoology 172. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA. Close , 3 Goodman, S. M., and P. L. Meininger, Editors (1989). The Birds of Egypt. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK and New York, USA. Close , 4 Urban, E. K., C. H. Fry, and S. Keith, Editors (1997). The Birds of Africa. Volume 5: Thrushes to Puffback Flycatchers. Academic Press, London, UK. Close , 5 Kennerley, P., and D. Pearson (2010). Reed and Bush Warblers. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ), but recently also discovered along the Nile in northern Sudan, where the species occurs at several localities along ca. 700 km of river between the Egyptian border and Merowe dam (6 Hering, J. (2014). Clamorous Reed Warblers breeding in Nile valley, Sudan, in April 2013. Dutch Birding 36(4):252–255. Close ).

Darker and more richly colored than brunnescens, being warmer olive brown above and darker tawny buff below, with a contrasting whitish throat and belly center (5 Kennerley, P., and D. Pearson (2010). Reed and Bush Warblers. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Size (5 Kennerley, P., and D. Pearson (2010). Reed and Bush Warblers. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ): wing of male 80–84 mm (mean 81.7 mm, n = 18), wing of female 74–80 mm (mean 76.6 mm, n = 10); tail of male 69–81 (mean 72.9 mm, n = 18), tail of female 65–72 mm (mean 68.2 mm, n = 10); bill of male 24.0–27.5 (mean 25.7 mm, n = 17), bill of female 24–26 mm (mean 25.1 mm, n = 10); tarsus of male 27–30 (mean 28.6 mm, n = 17), tarsus of female 26.0–27.5 mm (mean 27.0 mm, n = 10). A rather large subspecies, but shorter-winged and shorter-tailed than brunnescens, with a relatively longer and finer, laterally compressed bill (5 Kennerley, P., and D. Pearson (2010). Reed and Bush Warblers. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Tail on average more graduated than in brunnescens; toes and claws very strong (5 Kennerley, P., and D. Pearson (2010). Reed and Bush Warblers. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Sexes combined: tail/wing ratio 84–96% (mean 89%, n = 28); bill width 4.3–5.2 mm (mean 4.8 mm, n = 20); hindclaw 9.4–11.0 mm (mean 9.9 mm, n = 20); tail graduation 11–18 mm (mean 14.7 mm, n = 25) (5 Kennerley, P., and D. Pearson (2010). Reed and Bush Warblers. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ).

Wing formula (7 Cramp, S., Editor (1992). The Birds of the Western Palearctic. Volume 6. Warblers. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ):

Wing point p3–4; p2 = p5/6–6 (6/7); emargination on p3–4 , occasionally also p5 (7 Cramp, S., Editor (1992). The Birds of the Western Palearctic. Volume 6. Warblers. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ).​​​​​​​

Acrocephalus stentoreus levantina Roselaar, 1994, Dutch Birding 16:237.—Bet Shean, Israel. (8 Roselaar, C. S. (1994). Geographical variation within western populations of Clamorous Reed Warbler. Dutch Birding 16(6):237–239. Close )

The holotype, an adult, collected on 11 March 1924 by K. W. Bigger is at the Natural History Museum, Tring (NHMUK 1947.14.183). Roselaar (8 Roselaar, C. S. (1994). Geographical variation within western populations of Clamorous Reed Warbler. Dutch Birding 16(6):237–239. Close ) designated a large number of paratypes, without mentioning their registration numbers: three individuals held at NHMUK (one male, Jordan River near Jericho, 24 November 1919 and two males, Lake Hula, northern Israel, 25 May 1922), four in the Zoologisches Forschungsinstitut und Museum Alexander Koenig (ZFMK), Bonn, Germany (three males, Neve Yam, near Lake Tiberias, Israel, 25 April 1965, 9 March 1968, and 23 January 1970, and a juvenile female, Lake Hula, 11 August 1962), and five in the Naturhistorisches Museum Wien (NMW), Wien, Austria (three males and one female, Neve Yam, 31 March 1971, 19 November 1971, 3 December 1982, and 1 November 1988, and an adult female, Lake Hula, 5 October 1962).

Generally restricted to northern Israel, where it breeds from the Hula Valley south through the Bet Shean and Jordan Valleys to the northern Dead Sea, as well in the Jezreel Valley towards the Mediterranean Sea, and at scattered sites south to Emeq and HaSoreq (9 Shirihai, H. (1996). The Birds of Israel. Academic Press, London, UK. Close , 5 Kennerley, P., and D. Pearson (2010). Reed and Bush Warblers. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Roselaar (8 Roselaar, C. S. (1994). Geographical variation within western populations of Clamorous Reed Warbler. Dutch Birding 16(6):237–239. Close ) speculated that it must also occur in neighboring Jordan, and indeed a small population of this species bred at Azraq in the 1960s (and perhaps since) (10 Andrews, I. J. (1995). The Birds of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Published privately, Musselburgh, UK. Close ), but in the absence of specimens has not been assigned to subspecies. The same is true for the population (?) in southwest Syria (11 MacFarlane, A. M. (1978). Field notes on the birds of Syria. Army Bird-Watching Society Periodic Publication 3:47–94. Close , 12 Kinzelbach, R. (1986). New records of Goliath Heron, Yellow-billed Stork, Blyth’s Reed Warbler and Clamorous Reed Warbler in the Middle East. Bulletin of the Ornithological Society of the Middle East 17:13–17. Close , 13 Baumgart, W. (1995). Die Vögel Syriens: eine Übersicht. Max Kasparek Verlag, Heidelberg, Germany. Close ).

Includes two color morphs. The pale morph is similar to nominate stentoreus but somewhat larger and darker. The dark morph is unique (probably found only in levantinus), being overall dark brown, without any distinct contrast between the upperparts and underparts, which are concolorously dark (14 Laird, W. L. (1992). Plumage variation of Clamorous Reed Warbler in Israel. British Birds 85(2):83–85. Close ). Bill dark gray without a pale pinkish base. Legs dark gray. Size (8 Roselaar, C. S. (1994). Geographical variation within western populations of Clamorous Reed Warbler. Dutch Birding 16(6):237–239. Close ): wing of male 82–88 mm (mean 84.6 mm, n = 10), wing of female 75–82 mm (79.0 mm, n = 3); tail of male 75–83 mm (mean 79.8; 10), tail of female 72–74 mm (mean 73.0 mm, n = 2); bill of male 25.8–27.6 mm (mean 26.5 mm, n = 10), bill of female 23.8–24.5 mm (mean 24.2 mm, n = 3); tarsus of male 27.8–29.2 mm (mean 8.4 mm, n = 10), tarsus of female 26.4–28.0 mm (mean 27.2 mm, n = 3). Size and structure similar to the nominate subspecies, but tail/wing ratio apparently higher (ca. 93%) (5 Kennerley, P., and D. Pearson (2010). Reed and Bush Warblers. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Additional mensural data were related by Merom et al. (15 Merom, K., R. McCleery, and Y. Yom-Tov (1999). Age-related changes in wing-length and body mass in the Reed Warbler Acrocephalus scirpaceus and Clamorous Reed Warbler A. stentoreus. Bird Study 46(2):249‒255. Close ) and Morgan and Morgan (16 Morgan, B., and J. Morgan (2004). Wing lengths of Clamorous Reed Warblers Acrocephalus stentoreus in Israel. Ring 26(2):89‒92. Close ).

A[grobates]. brunnescens Jerdon, 1839, Madras Journal of Literature and Science 10:269.—Carnatic, near Trichinopoly (= Tiruchirapalli).

Breeds from eastern Sudan (17 Nikolaus, G. (1987). Distribution Atlas of Sudan's Birds with Notes on Habitat and Status. Bonner Zoologische Monographien 25. Zoologisches Forschungsinstitut und Museum Alexander Koenig, Bonn, Germany. Close ), Eritrea (18 Smith, K. D. (1961). On the Clamorous Reed-Warbler Acrocephalus stentoreus (Hemprich & Ehrenberg) in Eritrea. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club 81(2):28–29. Close , 19 Ash, J. S., and J. Atkins (2009). Birds of Ethiopia and Eritrea: An Atlas of Distribution. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ), extreme northwest Somalia (20 Clarke, G. (1985). Bird observations from northwest Somalia. Scopus 9:24–42. Close , 21 Ash, J. S., and J. E. Miskell (1998). Birds of Somalia. Pica Press, Robertsbridge, UK. Close ), parts of the Arabian Peninsula (22 Jennings, M. C. (2010). Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Arabia. Fauna of Arabia 25. King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology, Saudi Wildlife Commission & Senckenberg Forschungsinstitut und Naturmuseum, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia & Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Close ), and from south-central Kazakhstan (Syr Darya, Lake Sorbulak) (23 Kovshar, A. F. (1966). [Birds of the Talas Ala Tau Range]. Trudy Zapovednikov Kazakhstana 1. 435 pp. (In Russian.) Close , 24 Dolgushin, I. A., M. N. Korelov, M. A. Kuz’mina, E. I. Gavrilov, A. F. Kovshar, and I. F. Borodikhin (1972). [Birds of Kazakhstan]. Volume 4. Nauka Kazakhskoy SSR, Alma-Ata, Kazakhstan. (In Russian.) Close ), Turkmenistan (Kopet Dagh, the Morghab and Tedzhen Rivers), and Uzbekistan (Amu Darya, Aral Sea) (5 Kennerley, P., and D. Pearson (2010). Reed and Bush Warblers. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ), south through Tajikistan (25 Abdusalayamov, I. A. (1973). Fauna Tadzhikskoi SSR. XIX. Pticy 2. Donish, Dushanbe, Tajikistan. Close ) and Afghanistan (26 Paludan, K. (1959). On the birds of Afghanistan. Videnskabelige Meddelelser Dansk Naturhistorisk Forening 122:1–332. Close ) to southern Iraq and Iran, and east to the northern Indian Subcontinent, in Sind, Punjab, Baluchistan, and North West Frontier provinces (Pakistan) (27 Roberts, T. J. (1992). The Birds of Pakistan. Volume 2. Passeriformes: Pittas to Buntings. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ), the Vale of Kashmir, and parts of Rajasthan, Gujurat, around Bombay, near Calcutta, and in Kerala (India) (28 Ripley, S. D. (1982). A Synopsis of the Birds of India and Pakistan together with those of Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Second edition. Bombay Natural History Society and Oxford University Press, Bombay, India; and Oxford, UK. Close ); non-breeding populations also occur in peninsular India, Sri Lanka, and even northern Thailand (29 Deignan, H. G. (1963). Checklist of the birds of Thailand. Bulletin of the United States National Museum 226:1–263. Close , 5 Kennerley, P., and D. Pearson (2010). Reed and Bush Warblers. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ).

Described under Plumages.

Acrocephalus stentoreus amyae E. C. S. Baker, 1922, Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club 43:17.—Hessamara, northern Lakhimpur, extreme eastern Assam. (30 Baker, E. C. S. (1922). New subspecies of Sylviidae and Turdidae. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club 43:16–20. Close )

The holotype is an adult male, collected on 12 April 1905 by Herbert Stevens, held at the Natural History Museum, Tring (NHMUK 1922.8.9.1) (31 Warren, R. L. M., and C. J. O. Harrison (1971). Type-specimens of Birds in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume 2: Passerines. British Museum (Natural History), London, UK. Close ).

Occurs from northeast India (on the plains of the River Brahmaputra, in Assam) (32 Rasmussen, P. C., and J. C. Anderton (2005). Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA and Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. Close ) east to northern Myanmar (perhaps also central Myanmar and the Shan States) (33 Smythies, B. E. (1986). The Birds of Burma. Third revised edition. Nimrod Press, Liss, UK. Close ) and southern China (in southeast Xizang east to central and northeastern Sichuan, and southern Guizhou, and perhaps also in Yunnan) (34 Tso-hsin, C. (1987). A Synopsis of the Avifauna of China. Science Press and Paul Parey, Beijing, China; Hamburg and Berlin, Germany. Close , 5 Kennerley, P., and D. Pearson (2010). Reed and Bush Warblers. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ).

A large subspecies, closely resembling brunnescens (5 Kennerley, P., and D. Pearson (2010). Reed and Bush Warblers. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). In fresh plumage, slightly richer and browner on the upperparts, with the underparts more strongly washed pale gingery buff, and the breast and flanks appear brighter fulvous-brown; the supercilium is narrower and less well marked behind the eye, and also shows slightly broader pale buffy tips to the outermost rectrices and vaguely defined streaking on the breast (5 Kennerley, P., and D. Pearson (2010). Reed and Bush Warblers. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). However, when worn, these differences are largely lost (5 Kennerley, P., and D. Pearson (2010). Reed and Bush Warblers. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Size (also from 5 Kennerley, P., and D. Pearson (2010). Reed and Bush Warblers. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ): wing length 81–90 mm (mean 85.9 mm, n = 10); tail length 68–78 mm (mean 73.7 mm, n = 9); bill length 23–26 mm (mean 24.9 mm, n = 10); tarsus 28.5–30.0 mm (mean 29.3 mm, n = 10); tail/wing ratio 82–89% (mean 86%, n = 9). Wing formula as stentoreus, with pp3–4 longest, p2 = pp5/6–7, pp3–5 emarginated, p10 shortfall 13–18 mm, and bill and tail shape as brunnescens (5 Kennerley, P., and D. Pearson (2010). Reed and Bush Warblers. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Additional measurements presented by Rasmussen and Anderton (32 Rasmussen, P. C., and J. C. Anderton (2005). Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA and Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. Close ).

C[alamodyta]. meridionalis Legge, 1875, Stray Feathers 3:369—Jaffna, Ceylon.

Sri Lanka, throughout low-lying wetlands in both the wet and dry zones, north to the Jaffna Peninsula and south to at least Tissamaharma and Bundala National Park (5 Kennerley, P., and D. Pearson (2010). Reed and Bush Warblers. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Some authors also assign resident peninsular India populations to this subspecies (32 Rasmussen, P. C., and J. C. Anderton (2005). Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA and Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. Close ).

Kennerley and Pearson (5 Kennerley, P., and D. Pearson (2010). Reed and Bush Warblers. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ) reported that this subspecies is darker and more richly colored than brunnescens, and the upperparts slightly darker than in amyae, with a slight rufescent tinge, and the underparts are a paler creamy white with fulvous-brown flanks and cinnamon-buff undertail coverts; the throat is whitish with faint dusky striations that extend onto the upper breast. Size (from 5 Kennerley, P., and D. Pearson (2010). Reed and Bush Warblers. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ): wing length 77–84 mm (mean 81.3 mm, n = 16); tail length 65–74 mm (mean 68.1 mm, n = 14); bill length 23–26 mm (mean 24.6 mm, n = 15); tarsus length 27,0–30.5 (mean 28.3 mm, n = 13); tail/wing ratio 79–89% (mean 84%, n = 14). Wing and tail shorter than brunnescens (being closer to the nominate subspecies) (5 Kennerley, P., and D. Pearson (2010). Reed and Bush Warblers. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Wing formula as stentoreus, with pp3–4 longest, p2 = pp5/6–7, pp3–5 emarginated, p10 shortfall 13–18 mm, and bill and tail shape as brunnescens (5 Kennerley, P., and D. Pearson (2010). Reed and Bush Warblers. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Additional measurements presented by Rasmussen and Anderton (32 Rasmussen, P. C., and J. C. Anderton (2005). Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA and Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. Close ).

Acrocephalus stentoreus harterti Salomonsen, 1928, Ornithologische Monatsberichte 36:119.—Laguna de Bay [= Laguna de Bai, 14°23′N, 121°15′E], Luzon.

The holotype, an adult male collected on 11 January 1895 by Alfred H. Everett, is at the American Museum of Natural History, New York (AMNH 594488); it originally formed part of the Rothschild Collection (35 Dickinson, E. C., R. S. Kennedy, and K. C. Parkes (1991). The Birds of the Philippines: An Annotated Checklist. B.O.U. Check-list 12. British Ornithologists’ Union, Tring, UK. Close , 36 LeCroy, M. (2008). Type specimens of birds in the American Museum of Natural History. Part 7. Passeriformes: Sylviidae, Muscicapidae, Platysteiridae, Maluridae, Acanthizidae, Monarchidae, Rhipiduridae, and Petroicidae. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 313:1–298. Close ).

Endemic to the Philippines, where relatively widespread, being found on Bohol, Leyte, Luzon, Mindanao, Mindoro, Negros, Olango, and Panay (35 Dickinson, E. C., R. S. Kennedy, and K. C. Parkes (1991). The Birds of the Philippines: An Annotated Checklist. B.O.U. Check-list 12. British Ornithologists’ Union, Tring, UK. Close , 37 Kennedy, R. S., P. C. Gonzales, E. C. Dickinson, H. C. Miranda, and T. H. Fisher (2000). A Guide to the Birds of the Philippines. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close , 38 Braile, T. M., and K. Winker (2013). New distributional records of Philippine birds from Bohol, Mactan, Olango, Busuanga and Luzon islands. Forktail 29:140–141. Close , 39 Allen, D. (2020). Birds of the Philippines. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. Close ), with one record from Tubbataha Reefs (Palawan) (40 Jensen, A. E., and A. Songco (2016). Birds of Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park and World Heritage Site, Palawan province, Philippines, including accounts of breeding seabird population trends. Forktail 32:72–85. Close ).

Warmer and richer brown above than brunnescens, whereas the underparts are variable, some individuals strongly washed fulvous brown, others with a white chin and throat contrasting with a light fulvous-brown wash across the breast, which intensifies towards the sides and along the flanks; the belly is white, lightly tinged fulvous brown and the undertail coverts warm buff (5 Kennerley, P., and D. Pearson (2010). Reed and Bush Warblers. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Size (5 Kennerley, P., and D. Pearson (2010). Reed and Bush Warblers. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ): wing length 74–75 mm (mean 74.7 mm, n = 3); tail length 68–71 mm (mean 69.7 mm, n = 3); bill length 19–21 mm (mean 20.2 mm, n = 3); tarsus length 26–27 mm (mean 26.5 mm, n = 3). A relatively small subspecies, the wing length of the largest birds being shorter than the smallest brunnescens, and distinctly short-billed (5 Kennerley, P., and D. Pearson (2010). Reed and Bush Warblers. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Wing formula as stentoreus, with pp3–4 longest, p2 = pp6/7, but primary projection shorter, p10 shortfall 10.0–11.5 mm; emargination on pp3–5 (5 Kennerley, P., and D. Pearson (2010). Reed and Bush Warblers. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ).

Acrocephalus celebensis Heinroth, 1903, Journal für Ornithologie 51:125.—Makasar, Celebes.

Restricted to Sulawesi, where it is known from Ujung Pandang in the southwest of the island (41 White, C. M. N., and M. D. Bruce (1986). The Birds of Wallacea (Sulawesi, the Moluccas & Lesser Sunda Islands, Indonesia). An Annotated Check-list. British Ornithologists’ Union Check-list 7. British Ornithologists’ Union, London, UK. Close ), and Watling (42 Watling, D. (1983). Ornithological notes from Sulawesi. Emu 83(4):247–261. Close ) reported it to be common in the Palu Valley in the northwest.

Entire upperparts are warm rufescent-brown, chin and throat whitish, becoming pale cream on the breast and belly, and darkening to warm creamy brown on the flanks and undertail-coverts, the supercilium is narrow and poorly defined, most obvious above the lores but barely visible behind the eye (5 Kennerley, P., and D. Pearson (2010). Reed and Bush Warblers. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Most similar to the subspecies sumbae of Australian Reed Warbler (A. australis) (5 Kennerley, P., and D. Pearson (2010). Reed and Bush Warblers. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Size (5 Kennerley, P., and D. Pearson (2010). Reed and Bush Warblers. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ): wing length 72 mm (n = 1); tail length 63 mm (n = 1); bill length 23 mm (n = 1); tarsus length 21 mm (n = 1). Also (juveniles): wing length 70‒73 mm (n = 2); tail length 59‒65 mm (n = 2); bill length 21.0‒21.5 mm (n = 2); tarsus length 24.5 mm (n = 1).

Acrocephalus stentoreus siebersi Salomonsen, 1928, Ornithologische Monatsberichte 36:119—Tjibaroesa (= Tjibarusa), western Java.

Apparently confined to West Java, mainly at low-lying wetlands in the northwest, especially near Jakarta, e.g. the Muara Angke reserve (5 Kennerley, P., and D. Pearson (2010). Reed and Bush Warblers. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ).

Much darker than brunnescens, the upperparts being dark warm brown, but the underparts are similar in color and pattern to brunnescens and amyae, albeit frequently shows faint striations at the sides of the upper breast, similar to or less obvious than those in meridionalis, whilst the supercilium is generally less conspicuous than in brunnescens and often restricted to a warm buff line above the lores (5 Kennerley, P., and D. Pearson (2010). Reed and Bush Warblers. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Size (5 Kennerley, P., and D. Pearson (2010). Reed and Bush Warblers. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ): wing length 71–77 mm (mean 74.4 mm, n = 7); tail length 62–67 mm (mean 64.3 mm, n = 7); bill length 19.5–23.0 mm (mean 21.4 mm, n = 7); tarsus length 26–29 mm (mean 27.6 mm, n = 7). Similar to lentecaptus, but bill smaller, and also smaller than brunnescens (5 Kennerley, P., and D. Pearson (2010). Reed and Bush Warblers. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Wing formula as stentoreus but primary projection shorter (5 Kennerley, P., and D. Pearson (2010). Reed and Bush Warblers. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ).

Acrocephalus stentoreus lentecaptus E. Hartert, 1924, Treubia 6:21.—Ampenan [08°35′S, 116°05′E], northern Lombok. (43 Hartert, E. J. O. (1924). Ueber einige neue Vögel aus dem Indo-Australischen Archipel und deren Verwandte. Treubia 6:20–25. Close )

LeCroy (36 LeCroy, M. (2008). Type specimens of birds in the American Museum of Natural History. Part 7. Passeriformes: Sylviidae, Muscicapidae, Platysteiridae, Maluridae, Acanthizidae, Monarchidae, Rhipiduridae, and Petroicidae. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 313:1–298. Close ) nominated a lectotype for this taxon: an adult male collected in June 1896 by Alfred H. Everett, at the American Museum of Natural History, New York (AMNH 594491); it originally formed part of the Rothschild Collection.

Borneo (mainly at scattered localities in Kalimantan, but also in Brunei), central and eastern Java, and the westernmost Lesser Sundas (on Lombok, Sumbawa) (44 Mees, G. F. (1971). Systematic and faunistic remarks on birds from Borneo and Java, with new records. Zoologische Mededelingen 45:225–244. Close , 45 van Balen, S., and C. Prentice (1997). Birds of the Negara River Basin, South Kalimantan, Indonesia. Kukila 9:81–107. Close , 46 Holmes, D. A. (1997). Kalimantan bird report 2. Kukila 9:141–169. Close , 47 Mann, C. F. (2008). The Birds of Borneo. An Annotated Checklist. B.O.U. Checklist 23. British Ornithologists’ Union and British Ornithologists’ Club, Peterborough, UK. Close , 5 Kennerley, P., and D. Pearson (2010). Reed and Bush Warblers. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ).

Relatively stronger bill and slightly lighter underparts than others. Closely resembles siebersi with similar dark, warm brown upperparts. When fresh, the underparts show a warmer orange-cinnamon wash than in siebersi, extending across the breast, flanks, and belly, whilst the supercilium is usually more obvious, extending further above and behind the ear-coverts (but can be inseperable in worn or faded individuals) (5 Kennerley, P., and D. Pearson (2010). Reed and Bush Warblers. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Size (5 Kennerley, P., and D. Pearson (2010). Reed and Bush Warblers. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ): wing length 73–84 mm (mean 76.8 mm, n = 4); tail length 61–73 mm (mean 67.0 mm, n = 4); bill length 22.0–24.5 mm (mean 23.6 mm, n = 4); tarsus length 24–27 mm (mean 26.3 mm, n = 4). White and Bruce (41 White, C. M. N., and M. D. Bruce (1986). The Birds of Wallacea (Sulawesi, the Moluccas & Lesser Sunda Islands, Indonesia). An Annotated Check-list. British Ornithologists’ Union Check-list 7. British Ornithologists’ Union, London, UK. Close ) mentioned that birds from Lombok had wings of 77–81 mm (n = 5) and one from Lumbawa a wing length of 76 mm. Smaller than brunnescens (5 Kennerley, P., and D. Pearson (2010). Reed and Bush Warblers. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Wing formula as stentoreus but primary projection shorter, and bill relatively large and broad-based like that of brunnescens (5 Kennerley, P., and D. Pearson (2010). Reed and Bush Warblers. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ).