Grasshopper Warbler

Grasshopper Warbler

Locustella naevia

Silhouette: Afsarnayakkan · PhyloPic

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

In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%

157 Verified sightings at Manchester
749 In all 11 parks From 2019 to 2026
July 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 Manchester?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Grasshopper Warbler sighting in Manchester on a given day, based on 157 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 93rd most-seen of the 167 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.

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

April to July

In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Grasshopper Warbler in Manchester on a given day, against under 5% in August to March, the lowest months.

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 Manchester the best place to see a Grasshopper Warbler?

3rd of 21

Of the 21 cities where we can rate Grasshopper Warbler sightings, Manchester ranks 3rd at under 5%. The best odds are in Novosibirsk (Russia, about 10%) and Yekaterinburg (Russia, about 10%).

Which relatives of the Grasshopper Warbler live in Manchester?

Same order: Passeriformes

The closest relatives of the Grasshopper Warbler that you can see in Manchester (order Passeriformes, Perching Birds) are Eurasian Magpie (about 90%), European Robin (about 90%) and Carrion Crow (about 90%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

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 Manchester (157 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.

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