Grasshopper Warbler

Grasshopper Warbler

Locustella naevia

Silhouette: Afsarnayakkan · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Helsinki

In 3 days <5%

36 Verified sightings at Helsinki
749 In all 11 parks From 2019 to 2026
May Best month
🌅 Crepuscular When it's spotted

About the 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.

The Italian naturalist Ulisse Aldrovandi... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Song1:11

France · 2026

© Louis-Marie Gourmelon · XC1153617 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Subsong1:08

France · 2020

© Stanislas Wroza · XC579803 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call0:15

Poland · 2019

© Jarek Matusiak · XC571147 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Biebrza National Park 🇵🇱 Poland
~20%
2 Fertő-Hanság National Park 🇭🇺 Hungary
~10%
3 Białowieża National Park 🇵🇱 Poland
~10%
4 Kiskunság National Park 🇭🇺 Hungary
<5%
5 Snowdonia National Park 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
<5%
6 Hortobágy National Park 🇭🇺 Hungary
<5%
7 Wadden Sea National Park 🇩🇪 Germany
<5%
8 Bavarian Forest National Park 🇩🇪 Germany
<5%
9 Cairngorms National Park 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
<5%
10 Camargue 🇫🇷 France
<5%
11 Pyrénées National Park 🇫🇷 France
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Novosibirsk 🇷🇺 Russia
~10%
2 Yekaterinburg 🇷🇺 Russia
~10%
3 Manchester 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
<5%
4 Vasai-Virar 🇮🇳 India
<5%
5 Warsaw 🇵🇱 Poland
<5%
6 Birmingham 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
<5%
7 Kalyan-Dombivli 🇮🇳 India
<5%
8 Prague 🇨🇿 Czechia
<5%
9 Kyiv 🇺🇦 Ukraine
<5%
10 Saint Petersburg 🇷🇺 Russia
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Grasshopper Warbler in Helsinki?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Grasshopper Warbler sighting in Helsinki on a given day, based on 36 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 185th most-seen of the 233 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Grasshopper Warbler in Helsinki?

Any time of year

In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Grasshopper Warbler in Helsinki on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.

What time of day is best to see a Grasshopper Warbler?

Between 6 and 9 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Grasshopper Warbler sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.

Is Helsinki the best place to see a Grasshopper Warbler?

12th of 21

Of the 21 cities where we can rate Grasshopper Warbler sightings, Helsinki ranks 12th at under 5%. The best odds are in Novosibirsk (Russia, about 10%), Yekaterinburg (Russia, about 10%) and Manchester (United Kingdom, under 5%).

Where does the Grasshopper Warbler sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Grasshopper Warbler is recorded against all the birds logged in Helsinki (36 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

← Back to Helsinki