Little Rush-Warbler ( Bradypterus baboecala, family: Sylviidae)

Birds & Birding in the Kruger National Park South Africa. In Roberts 6 this bird was called African Sedge Warbler

little rush warbler Kruger National Park birds The Little Rush-Warbler (Latin name Bradypterus baboecala) is described in Roberts Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition. This bird has a unique Roberts number of 638 and you will find a full description of this bird on page 792 also a picture of the Little Rush-Warbler on page 848. The Little Rush-Warbler belongs to the family of birds classified as Sylviidae. According to the Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology the Little Rush-Warbler is also known by these other names: Rush Warbler, African Bush Warbler, Swamp Warbler.

In the previous edition of Roberts (ie 6th edition) the Little Rush-Warbler was called the African Sedge Warbler

The map of the Kruger you see on this page shows the areas (coloured orange) where this bird has been identified. The basic information was provided by the Avian Demographic Unit based at UCT and I created the maps from that information ... the green dots show the locations of the various Kruger National Park Rest Camps

The Little Rush-Warbler is neither Endemic or near Endemic to the Kruger National Park.

In terms of distribution of the Little Rush-Warbler in the Kruger National Park you may not see it in all areas. Little Rush-Warbler : see above distribution map.

Little Rush Warbler Kruger ParkIdentification assistance for this avian species ...

One of the first indicators to take note of when trying to identify a bird is it relative size. For example how big is the bird compared to a well known familiar bird. The Little Rush-Warbler is an extremely small bird about half the size of a house sparrow. The height of the Little Rush-Warbler is about 19 cms and its weight is about 14 gms

The male and female Little Rush-Warbler have the same plumage and colours

  • Head is brown.
  • Eye is brown.
  • Bill is black.
  • Throat is white.
  • Back is brown.
  • Legs are pink.

This bird has normally proportioned leg length.

Main diet items for this bird ...

The Little Rush-Warbler feeds on the ground mainly

Invertebrates

Breeding and nesting habits for this bird ...

The Little Rush-Warbler is monogamous unless its mate dies. In the event of a partner dying Bradypterus baboecala will seek out a new mate

The nesting habit of Little Rush-Warbler is to create the nest on the ground. The bird lays eggs which are white in colour and number between 2 to 3

Habitat and flocking behaviour for this bird ...

The preferred habitats for Little Rush-Warbler are: woodlands and grasslands and riverine areas

You will not see Little Rush-Warbler in flocks. The bird prefers to act singly or in pairs.

Names of this avian species in other languages ...

Xhosa ... Unomakhwane

Zulu ... Unknown

Afrikaans ...Kaapse Vleisanger

German ... Sumpfbuschsnger

Portuguese ... Felosa-dos-juncos-africana

French ... Bouscarle caqueteuse

Dutch ... Moeras-Struikzanger

First bird in list | Previous bird viewed | Next KNP bird | Last bird in list

For in-depth birding information please refer to these authoritative avian references ...

Robert's 7th edition number ... 638

The main reference source for this data was "Roberts - Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition" . Other references were "Newmans Birds of the Kruger Park" by Keith Newman published circa 1980 . Names in foreign languages were obtained from the Percy Fitzpatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town website , www.fitzpatrick.uct.ac.za