Middendorff's Grasshopper-Warbler

Locustella ochotensisOrder: PASSERIFORMES Family: Old World Warblers and Gnatcatchers (Sylviidae)

Codes: Common Name: MIGW Scientific Name: LOCOCH ITIS Taxonomic No.: 179849

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Overview

Middendorf's Grasshopper Warbler: Medium warbler, rust-brown upperparts, dark brown rump, white underparts with brown wash on lower breast, sides. Throat and eyestripes are white. Tail is short and white-tipped. Legs and feet are orange. Alternates rapid wing beats with wings tucked to sides.

Range and Habitat

Middendorff's Grasshopper-Warbler: Native to Asia; strays and breeds in the western Aleutian and Bering Sea islands. Prefers dense vegetation and remains concealed in thick grass and shrubs.

Topo Map: Perching-like Body

Voice Text

"veechee-veechee-veechee"

Interesting Facts

The Middendorff's Grasshopper-Warbler is named for its song, which sounds like a grasshopper.

They are difficult to observe because they prefer to skulk in dense vegetation and remain concealed in dense shrubs and grasses.

A group of warblers has many collective nouns, including a "bouquet", "confusion", "fall", and "wrench" of warblers.

Bird Term Glossary

Author

Gary Owen Dick

Artist

Samira Belous

Range Map for Middendorff's Grasshoper-Warbler

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Middendorff's Grasshopper-Warbler

● Song: "veechee-veechee-veechee"

● Foraging & Feeding: Middendorff's Grasshopper-Warbler: Eats insects and occasionally takes spiders, small mollusks, and berries; forages in dense grass and bushes, staying on the ground or well inside vegetation.

● Breeding & nesting: Middendorff's Grasshopper-Warbler: Five to six black streaked, pink eggs are laid in a nest made of dead leaves, plant stems, and dried grass, lined with plant fiber and fine materials, and set in the grass or reeds on the ground. Incubation ranges from 13 to 15 days and is carried out by the female.

● Similar species: Middendorff's Grasshopper-Warbler: Lanceolated Warbler is smaller; paler brown, has dark streaks on underparts, less broadly streaked on crown, and lacks white-tipped tail.

Flight Pattern

Short weak flights on rapidly beating wings, alternating with wings tucked to sides; repeated.

Middendorff's Grasshopper-Warbler Fall Body Illustration

● Range & Habitat: Middendorff's Grasshopper-Warbler: Native to Asia; strays and breeds in the western Aleutian and Bering Sea islands. Prefers dense vegetation and remains concealed in thick grass and shrubs.

^BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester

^PopulationCasual to accidental

^MigrationMigratory

^Weight0.6 Ounces

Perching-like Body

Underparts

Belly, undertail coverts, chest, flanks, and foreneck.

Upperparts

Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.

Breast

The upper front part of a bird.

Rump

The area between the uppertail coverts and the back of the bird.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America