Blyth's Reed Warbler

Blyth's reed warbler is a slim reed warbler, 12–14cm long and 8–16g, with relatively short, rounded wings and a long, thick bill. Its plumage is plain and lacks the warmer tones of related species: plain olive-brown above, off-white below, with a short whitish eyebrow running from the bill to the eye and a dusky stripe through the eye. The bill is greyish-brown with a pale pinkish base to the lower mandible, the same colour as the legs (Wikipedia, general species account).

It breeds from the Baltic almost to Lake Baikal, with an isolated population in Central Asia, and winters in South Asia. It has been spreading westwards in Europe and has recently bred in the Netherlands and Scotland. Its song is variable, mixing harsh ticks, chaks and churrs with melodious whistles and mimicry. It is named for the zoologist Edward Blyth, who described it in 1849 (Wikipedia, general species account).