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Cetti's Warbler Cettia cetti
Cetti's Warbler Song Types
Rainham > Purfleet-on-Thames area, London/Essex, England 2018-2023 Each adult male Cetti's Warbler has a single territorial song type with no variation between strophes. The birds in the Rainham area can be categorised into three main groups based on broadly similar repeated 'phrases':
Song Signatures of Cetti's Warbler in Western Europe
Song Signatures of Cetti's Warblers in Western Europe The introductory song phrase composed of 1, 2 or 3 elements (highlighted in colour above) appears to match a geographic distribution. The proceeding elements (main phrases of each song) are unique to each individual bird (though the broad structure of the phrases probably show some geographic and subspecific patterns).
2018 Short study of a single male
NCN Route-13/Coldharbour Lane, Rainham Marshes, Essex, England 51° 30' 21.8" N 00° 11' 25.8" W 10:42-11:42h, 1 May 2018 Territorial song from four song posts along a 160 metre linear territory bordering a public footpath/cyclepath. Song composed of a single 2.5 sec strophe; frequency range 1.91-8.88 kHz; rate ~1 strophe/min (55 strophes in 60 mins). Minimum distance of 390 metres travelled in 60 mins. [File
name: cettiswarbler114929ecut]
2019 Sonograms from 24 of the 35 Cetti's Warblers mapped on my cycle route to work
NCN Route-13/Coldharbour Lane, Rainham Marshes, Essex, England Here are the songs from 24 of the 35 Cetti's Warbler territories mapped (below) on my cycle to and from work, Rainham-Purfleet (NCN Route-13), 30-Mar to 2-Jun 2019. Each bird has a single unique song type not shared with any other individual.
NCN Route-13/Coldharbour Lane, Rainham Marshes, Essex, England Mapping of 35 Cetti's Warbler territories on my cycle to and from work, Rainham-Purfleet (NCN Route-13), 30-Mar to 2-Jun 2019.
2021 Sonograms from 60 of the 62 Cetti's Warblers mapped on my cycle route to work
NCN Route-13/Coldharbour Lane, Rainham Marshes, Essex, England Mapping of 62 Cetti's Warbler territories on my cycle to and from work, Rainham-Purfleet (NCN Route-13), April to June 2021.
NCN Route-13/Coldharbour Lane, Rainham Marshes, Essex, England Here are the songs from 60 of the 62 Cetti's Warbler territories mapped (below) on my cycle to and from work, Rainham-Purfleet (NCN Route-13), April to June 2021. Each bird has a single unique song type not shared with any other individual.
2022 Recording points of sound recordings of 69 Cetti's Warblers mapped on my cycle route to work
NCN Route-13/Coldharbour Lane, Rainham Marshes, Essex, England Mapping of 69 Cetti's Warbler territories (no #47) on my cycle to and from work, Rainham-Purfleet (NCN Route-13), April to June 2022.
Rainham Marshes, Essex, England 51º 29' 15.35'' N 00º 13' 22.7'' E 9 April 2021 Territorial song (category A1 song - single short phrase after the initial element) from a Cetti's Warbler in Blackberry scrub/Goat Willow on the edge of a reedbed. A single strope uttered 1-2 times per minute. [File
name: cettiswarbler117580ecut]
Rainham Marshes, Essex, England 51º 30' 03'' N 00º 11' 24'' E 18 April 2021 Territorial song (category A2 song - single long phrase after the initial element) from a Cetti's Warbler. [File
name: cettiswarbler21LS117701cut]
Rainham Marshes, Essex, England 51º 30' 27'' N 00º 10' 54'' E 2 June 2019 Territorial song (category B1 song - where two phrases after the initial element are similar) from a Cetti's Warbler in Blackberry scrub/Goat Willow on the edge of a reedbed. A single strope uttered 1-2 times per minute. [File
name: cettiswarbler3116136020619cut]
Rainham Marshes, Essex, England 51º 29' 38'' N 00º 12' 25'' E 6 May 2019 Territorial song (category B2 song - where two phrases after the initial element are different). [File
name: cettiswarbler7115979060519]
Rainham Marshes, Essex, England 51º 30' 13'' N 00º 11' 06'' E 2 May 2021 Cetti's Warbler with longer song (category C1 song - where three phrases after initial element are similar). Phrases 2, 3 and 4 sound identical to the human ear but the spectrogram reveals minor differences. [File
name: cettiswarbler60LS117905cut]
Rainham Marshes, Essex, England 51º 29' 16'' N 00º 13' 28'' E 4 February 2023 Cetti's Warbler with longer song (category C song - where three phrases after initial element are similar). Phrases 2, 3 and 4 sound identical to the human ear but the spectrogram reveals minor differences. [File
name: cettiswarbler118355ecut1]
Rainham Marshes, Essex, England 51º 30' 27'' N 00º 11' 23'' E 19 April 2021 An agonistic song battle between two male Cetti's Warblers disputing territory. Lasted at least four minutes before physical attacks began and singing stopped. Both bird appeared to be singing standard undisturbed territorial song (S-song) and aggressive territorial song (I-song) (Luschi & Seppia 1996) at a very high rate compared with typical day song (1-2 strophes/min).
[File
name: cettiswarblers117882e]
Rainham Marshes, Essex, England 51º 29' 13'' N 00º 13' 43'' E 12 February 2023 An agonistic song battle between two male Cetti's Warblers disputing territory. Both birds raising and flapping a single wing at the other in low bramble scrub emerging from Phragmites. (Chainsaw background noise from rspb cutting down a large Walnut tree).
[File
name: cettiswarbler118391ecut]
Rainham Marshes, Essex, England 51º 30' 40'' N 00º 10' 56'' E 3 June 2022 Male Cetti's Warbler song interrupted by a female uttering a rattle call (2.9-8.9 kHz) composed of 18 elements in 1.2 secs, followed by single tick calls and a further rattle (17 elements in 1 sec). [File
name: cettiswarbler118151ecut1]
Rainham Marshes, Essex, England 51º 30' 40'' N 00º 10' 56'' E 3 June 2022 Calls from a male (composed of song-like elements) with female giving tick calls in the background. [File
name: cettiswarbler118151ecut2]
La Janda, Andalucia, Spain 36º 13' 12.2'' N 05º 47' 5.4'' W April 2010 Song - single strope. [File
name: cettiswarbler0420_095747e]
La Janda, Andalucia, Spain 36º 13' 12.2'' N 05º 47' 5.4'' W April 2010 Song (different bird from above) - single strope. [File
name: cettiswarbler0420_134321e]
Embalse de Arrocampo, Extremadura, Spain 39° 50' 17.1" N 05° 41' 03.7" W 16 June 2013 Song - single strope. [File
name: cettiswarbler111481ecut]
Marismas del Barbate, Andalucia, Spain 36º 14' 24.6'' N 5º 56' 53.5'' W 16 April 2019 Song - single strope. [File
name: cettiswarbler115836ecut]
Parc Natural dels Aiguamolls de L'Empordà, Catalunya, Spain June 2000 Single burst of territorial song from flooded scrub. [File
name: cettiswarblerjun00emp]
Tsiknias River mouth, Lesvos, Greece 39° 12' 14.7" N 26° 13' 35.5" E 25 May 2017 Territorial dawn song (3-4 strophes per minute - greater output than later in the day) from riverside vegetation. Composed of an sudden, loud, metallic chirping with an introductory double-element, followed by a brief pause, then two phrases of double-elements back-to-back. [File
name: cettiswarbler114598e]
Embalse de Arrocampo, Extremadura, Spain 39° 50' 17.1" N 05° 41' 03.7" W 16 June 2013 Calls. [File
name: cettiswarbler111472ecut]
Rainham Marshes, Essex, England 51º 29' 15.35'' N 00º 13' 22.7'' E 19 May 2019 Calls. [File
name: cettiswarbler116099ecut2]
WWT London Wetland Centre, England 51º 28' 51.48'' N 00º 14' 5.38'' E 30 April 2011 Single strophe of song burst, uttered every 3-5 minutes from waterside alder and bramble scrub. [File
name: cettiswarbler110430162458ecut]
WWT London Wetland Centre, England 51º 28' 51.48'' N 00º 14' 5.38'' E 30 April 2011 Single strophe of song burst from the same individual above. [File
name: cettiswarbler110430163550ecut]
Cetti's Warbler song audible at 750 metre range
BWP states that the Cetti's Warbler is audible up to 300 metres (Trouche 1939). This is probably at least true across typical marshland habitat. On rare, flat calm mornings in Essex on the River Thames, or even with a slight southerly wind, I've heard Cetti's Warbler singing from the Kent side of the river, a distance of at least 750 metres to the nearest bush.
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© Fraser Simpson · www.fssbirding.org.uk |
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