Justification This poorly known and probably under-recorded warbler qualifies as Vulnerable, as it has a small population, which is declining as a result of wetland destruction in its wintering grounds. Its breeding grounds are in urgent need of discovery.

Family/Sub-family Sylviidae

Species name author (Swinhoe, 1863)

Taxonomic source(s) Sibley and Monroe (1990, 1993)

Identification 12-13 cm. Small, lightly streaked warbler. Pale buff upperparts with faint dark streaking on mantle and scapulars and bright buff rump, tinged rufous. Faintly streaked crown with prominent black lateral crown-stripe over broad creamy-buff supercilium. Buff-ochre underparts with whiter throat and belly. Similar spp. Black-browed Reed Warbler A. bistrigiceps has uniform olive-brown upperparts, lacking streaking on crown, mantle and scapulars.

Population estimate

Population trend

Range estimate (breeding/resident)

Country endemic?

2,500-9,999

decreasing

-

No

Range & population Acrocephalus sorghophilus occurs on passage in Liaoning, Hebei, Hubei, Jiangsu, Fujian and Beijing in eastern China, and Taiwan (China), where there are eight confirmed records³. It winters in the Philippines, where it is local and uncommon, with regular records from Candaba on Luzon and Dalton Pass. It is presumed to breed in north-east China, possibly in Liaoning and Hebei, and there was a recent record of a singing male at Muraviovka, Russia¹, although a subsequent search of the site failed to find any individuals². There have been less than ten records of birds on passage in the last ten years.

Important Bird Areas Click here to view map showing IBAs where species is recorded and triggers any of the IBA criteria.

Ecology: On passage, it has been recorded from millet crops and a marsh and in winter it occurs in reed and grass marsh, often near water. It probably feeds largely on invertebrates and perhaps seeds. Spring passage in China is from late May to early June and autumn passage from late August to early September. All Philippine records are from September to June.

Threats Habitat destruction on the wintering grounds is likely to be causing a decline. At Candaba, most marshland has been destroyed through conversion to rice-cultivation, and fishponds. The banks of Laguna de Bay are being occupied by settlers and factories so that the reedbeds are becoming highly fragmented and greatly reduced in area and, at Bukal, Laguna, most reedbed has been drained for conversion to poultry-processing factories. Habitat loss may also be occurring in its breeding grounds.

Conservation measures underway CMS Appendix II. Candaba Marsh has been proposed as a Ramsar Site and education material has been prepared.

Conservation measures proposed Attempt to locate the breeding areas in north-east China, particularly using tape-playback. Survey wetlands in the Philippines to try and locate further wintering sites and initiate a new ringing programme at Dalton Pass. At Candaba, investigate its habitat requirements in order to produce conservation recommendations and educational material, designate the site under the National Integrated Protected-Areas System process and investigate nearby marshland to see if this should be included under the proposed Ramsar designation. List it as a protected species in China and the Philippines.

References BirdLife International (2001). 1. Fabien, P. in litt. (2004) 2. P. Leader in litt. (2007). 3. L. Yang in litt. (2007).

Further web sources of information

Fully detailed species accounts from the Threatened birds of Asia: the BirdLife International Red Data Book (BirdLife International 2001), together with new information collated since the publication of the Red Data Book

Text account compilers Phil Benstead (BirdLife International), Mike Crosby (BirdLife International), James Gilroy (BirdLife International), Simon Mahood (BirdLife International), Nic Peet (BirdLife International)

Contributors P. Fabien, Richard Johnson, Paul Leader, Liu Yang

IUCN Red List evaluators Phil Benstead (BirdLife International), Stuart Butchart (BirdLife International), Simba Chan (Wild Bird Society of Japan), Nigel Collar (BirdLife International), Mike Crosby (BirdLife International), James Gilroy (BirdLife International), Simon Mahood (BirdLife International), Nic Peet (BirdLife International)

Recommended citation BirdLife International (2009) Species factsheet: Acrocephalus sorghophilus. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 10/2/2010

This information is based upon, and updates, the information published in BirdLife International (2000) Threatened birds of the world. Barcelona and Cambridge, UK: Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, BirdLife International (2004) Threatened birds of the world 2004 CD-ROM and BirdLife International (2008) Threatened birds of the world 2008 CD-ROM. These sources provide the information for species accounts for the birds on the IUCN Red List.

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