Scientific name: Acrocephalus paludicola (Vieillot, 1817)
Bird group: Warblers
Field characters. 13 cm. Resembles Sedge Warbler. Plumage more contrasting, yellow or grey-white with obvious black streaks, especially on upperparts. Broad cream coloured supercilium and crown-stripe, bordered by black stripes (but beware of juvenile and eastern Sedge Warblers, which can have indistinct crown stripe). Underparts yellow-white, with only some streaks on breast. Belly white. Rump not rufous but same colour as upperparts, streaked. Rather skulking, except when singing from exposed song-post. Does not have song flight like Sedge Warbler.
Voice. Calls 'trrr', 'chack'. Song rather 'boring' and uniform, 'errr dididi, errr dududu'.
Distribution. Scarce and local summer visitor, strongly declining; formerly bred west to Netherlands, France and Italy.
Habitat. Dense flooded sedge and tall grass marshes at border of lakes and rivers.
Food. Invertebrates.