Aquatic Warbler

Acrocephalus paludicola

Order: Passeriformes
Family: Acrocephalidae
Presence in the Strait: Vagrant
Protection in Spain: Special protection (List)
In Spanish: Carricerín cejudo

Photograph: prmtl, CC BY, vía iNaturalist

Length: 13 cm
Weight: 12 g

Presence in the Strait

Accidental. Three records: One bird at Marismas del Palmones on 7.03.93, another at the River Guadiaro estuary on 13.10.99 and at River Pícaro (Algeciras) on 25.08.10.

Identification

Shy and retiring, and similar to a Sedge Warbler, but with heavier black streaking on mantle and yellow-buff “braces“; pale underparts, finely streaked. Black eye stripe and lateral crown stripe, pale lores and supercilium, and prominent central crown-stripe (see Sedge Warbler juvenile). Juveniles are more yellowish above with dark streaks and plain below. Breeding areas are in Central and Eastern Europe. Sylviidae Carricerín Real Carricerín Común Carricerín Cejudo

Bioestrecho editorial text. Last revised: 8 September 2026.

Photographs from iNaturalist observations with the licence checked file by file. Those marked “Strait” were taken within the area; place and date are those of each observation.

Calendar in the Strait

67 %

Peak in July. Observations under CC0 or CC BY licences. The distribution also reflects observation effort.

Where it is seen

Open records from the atlas database, in cells of about 3.6 km. Opacity follows the square root of the count, and also reflects where people observe most.

See on the map

First open record: 25 July 2010
Latest record: 26 October 2023

The oldest and the most recent open observation in the extended area. A recent first observation does not mean the species is new: it means nobody had published it openly before.

Conservation

The catalogues, Andalusian and Spanish, are what binds; the Red Book assesses the Spanish population with IUCN criteria, and the global Red List is the context.

LCNTVUENCR

Andalusian Catalogue: Special protection (List)
Spanish Catalogue: Special protection (List)
Red Book of the Birds of Spain 2021: EN · Endangered · breeding
Global Red List (IUCN): VU · Vulnerable

Annex I of the Birds Directive

Andalusian Catalogue: Junta de Andalucía, list of 24 April 2025. Spanish Catalogue: MITECO, table of 30 June 2025. Red Book: SEO/BirdLife, 2021 (Annex I). IUCN: via GBIF, 6 September 2026. Red Book and IUCN categories are assessments; catalogue categories are legal obligations.

Same genus in the Strait

Sedge Warbler13–13 cm · Migrant · overlapping size
Moustached Warbler13–13 cm · Seasonal · overlapping size
Eurasian Reed Warbler12.5–12.5 cm · Seasonal
Great Reed Warbler19–19 cm · Seasonal
Blyth’s Reed Warbler12.5–12.5 cm · Vagrant

Species of the same genus that also occur here, ordered by how close they are in size. Being relatives does not mean they are confused in the field, but that is where the doubts start: compare size and season.

Classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Acrocephalidae
GBIF taxon key: 2493114

Sources

Distribution and calendar: Bioestrecho's own database, ingested from GBIF and OBIS
Photograph: prmtl, CC BY, vía iNaturalist
Taxonomy: GBIF backbone, pending WoRMS for marine taxa
Editorial text: written by Bioestrecho
Last revised: 8 September 2026

Aquatic Warbler

Presence in the Strait

Identification

Gallery