Old World Warblers (Sylviidae)

Black-browed Reed-warbler (Acrocephalus bistrigiceps) - HBW 11, p. 618

French: Rousserolle de Schrenck German: Brauenrohrsänger Spanish: Carricerín Cejinegro
Other common names: Von Schrenck’s Reed-warbler

Taxonomy: Acrocephalus bistrigiceps Swinhoe, 1860, Xiamen (Amoy), Fujian, China.
Recent study based on mitochondrial DNA sequences suggests that this species and A. melanopogon, A. paludicola and A. schoenobaenus form a monophyletic clade, the “striped reed-warbler group”, in which traditionally A. sorghophilus also included. Was in the past sometimes treated as conspecific with A. tangorum, but recent DNA studies indicate genetic difference between the two in excess of 9·5%, and morphological studies support treatment as separate species. Monotypic.

Distribution: Breeds SE Russia (SE Siberia, Amur Valley, Ussuriland), NE & E China, Korean Peninsula, Sakhalin I and Japan (Hokkaido, Honshu); non-breeding NE India E to S & SE China, S to Malay Peninsula, rarely N Sumatra.