| Description |
|
Medium-sized
passerine bird of 12-13cm of length. Clear and speckled brown
coloration in the chest with a prominent sandy crown stripe.
|
| Diet |
Feeds
primarily on insects found between low vegetation.
|
| Habits |
Very
related to aquatic environments, even during the migratory
period. During the breeding season the males sing from high-up
places with its head bent backwards and lowering and raising
the tail with peculiar movements.
|
| Reproduction |
|
Data
from eastern Europe indicates that the egg-laying period is
between May and July, and that they usually make between 1
and 2 egg-laying. These consist of between 4 and 6 eggs, and
the incubation period lasts between 12 and 15 days. The female
feeds the chicks without any help from the male.
|
| Habitat
and distribution |
|
This
small passerine is found in wet sedge, reed beds with short
vegetation (shorter than 30cm) and other low-lying vegetation
close to open water, normally along rivers. Estuaries and
coastal lagoons.
In Europe it nests in a wide number of countries: Hungary,
Poland, Byelorussia, the Ukraine and Russia. It over-winters
in the west of sub-Sahara Africa. During migration, part of
its population crosses the Iberian Peninsula.
|
| Threats |
|
Considered
a vulnerable species even though large populations were discovered
in 1994. It has been calculated that population numbers have
diminished 40% in the last 10 years. The main threats are
over-exploitation of water resources and desertification.
|
