Acrocephalus gracilirostris
Silhouette: Yves Hoebeke · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
The lesser swamp warbler or Cape reed warbler (Acrocephalus gracilirostris) is an Old World warbler in the genus Acrocephalus. It is sparsely present across sub-Saharan Africa, a common species of reedbeds in standing water.
The lesser swamp warbler is a plain-coloured smallish bird 14–16 cm long and weighing around 20 g. Its upperparts are rich brown, and it has a white supercilium. The underparts are white, with a rufous wash to the flanks. The long, strong bill has a slightly down-curved upper mandible; it is blackish-yellow with a yellower base. The legs are blue-grey and the eyes are brown. Adults of both sexes and juvenile birds are very similar in appearance.
The song is rich and melodious, a series of bubbly phrases that include trilling notes, cheerup chee trrreee and a large number of variations, with pauses between phrases. The lesser swamp warbler builds a deep, firm cup nest from strips of reed blades, grass and sedges, which is lined with finer grasses. It is always placed in reeds above water. It nests mainly from August to December, with the earliest nesters being those in the winter rainfall areas of the Western Cape Province. It lays... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Coast National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | iSimangaliso Wetland Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Garden Route National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | Table Mountain National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 5 | Addo Elephant National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 6 | Queen Elizabeth National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 7 | uMkhuze Game Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 8 | Golden Gate Highlands National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 9 | Ngorongoro Conservation Area | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 10 | Nairobi National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 11 | Lake Nakuru National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 12 | Liwonde National Park | 🇲🇼 Malawi | |
| 13 | Tsavo West National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 14 | Akagera National Park | 🇷🇼 Rwanda | |
| 15 | Murchison Falls National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 16 | Kafue National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 17 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 18 | De Hoop Nature Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 19 | Amboseli National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 20 | Chobe National Park | 🇧🇼 Botswana | |
| 21 | Moremi Game Reserve | 🇧🇼 Botswana | |
| 22 | Lake Mburo National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zanzibar City | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 2 | Cape Town | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Harare | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 4 | Dar es-Salaam | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 5 | Kigali | 🇷🇼 Rwanda | |
| 6 | Nairobi | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 7 | Pretoria | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 8 | Durban | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 9 | Johannesburg | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 10 | Kampala | 🇺🇬 Uganda |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Umgeni River Bird Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Lesser Swamp Warbler sighting in Queen Elizabeth National Park on a given day, based on 94 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 186th most-seen of the 434 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January, May–July and September–October
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Lesser Swamp Warbler in Queen Elizabeth National Park on a given day, against under 5% in February–April, August and November–December, the lowest months.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Lesser Swamp Warbler sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
6th of 22
Of the 22 parks where we can rate Lesser Swamp Warbler sightings, Queen Elizabeth National Park ranks 6th at about 10%. The best odds are in West Coast National Park (South Africa, about 30%), iSimangaliso Wetland Park (South Africa, about 10%) and Garden Route National Park (South Africa, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Lesser Swamp Warbler is recorded against all the birds logged in Queen Elizabeth National Park (94 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
