Grasshopper Warbler Locustella naevia

The Grasshopper Warbler, Locustella naevia, is a small and extraordinarily elusive summer migrant belonging to the family Locustellidae, arriving from West Africa each spring to breed across Britain. It is far more often heard than seen, renowned for its remarkable song – a prolonged, mechanical, insect-like reeling delivered continuously for minutes at a time, often from deep within dense vegetation, with the sound appearing to shift in volume as the bird slowly turns its head. In the rare event of a clear view, adults are streaked brown above with lightly spotted underparts – cryptic plumage perfectly suited to a bird that moves through dense, low vegetation with a rodent-like creeping action. The species favours young plantation edges, fen margins, scrubby grassland, and rank vegetation with a dense, tangled structure. It has declined significantly as a breeding bird in Britain due to the loss of suitable early-successional habitats, and is an Amber List species of conservation concern. Image: © Neil Rolph, Flickr.

Find out more: RSPB, Suffolk Wildlife Trust, iNaturalist