Acrocephalus griseldis
Silhouette: Yves Hoebeke · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The Basra reed warbler (Acrocephalus griseldis) is a "warbler" of the genus Acrocephalus. It is a near-endemic breeder in the Tigris–Euphrates river system in southwestern Iran, eastern and southern Iraq, and Kuwait, though it has also recently colonised wetlands in Israel. It breeds in extensive beds of papyrus and reeds. It is easily mistaken for the great reed warbler but is a bit smaller, has whiter underparts and has a narrower, longer and more pointed bill. It is migratory, wintering in East Africa. It is a very rare vagrant in Europe. The call is a gruff chaar, deeper than that of a common reed warbler.
It is found in aquatic vegetation in or around shallow, fresh or brackish water, still or flowing, mainly in dense reedbeds. It is found in thickets and bushland when migrating or wintering. In 2007, the species was discovered as a breeding bird in northern Israel.
Due to the drainage of the Mesopotamian marshes throughout the 1980s and the 1990s, and the subsequent near destruction of its native habitat, the Basra reed warbler is considered an endangered species. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tsavo West National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kuwait City | 🇰🇼 Kuwait |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Basra Reed Warbler sighting in Tsavo West National Park on a given day, based on 20 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 277th most-seen of the 380 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.
November and December
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Basra Reed Warbler in Tsavo West National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January to October, the lowest months. Those are among Tsavo West National Park's wettest months, with about 120 mm of rain a month against 5 mm in July.
Between 5 and 8 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Basra Reed Warbler sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Tsavo West National Park, in our data
Tsavo West National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Basra Reed Warbler sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Basra Reed Warbler is recorded against all the birds logged in Tsavo West National Park (20 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.
