Acrocephalus arundinaceus

The Great Reed-warbler is classified as Critically Endangered (CR) due to the extremely small size of its breeding population, which is estimated at a few pairs at the most (and possibly does not breed in Israel every year). In the previous edition of the Red Book (2002), it was classified as Critically Endangered (CR).

Habitats	Wetland Thickets
Presence In Israel	Summer Breeder, Migrant
Nesting In Israel	Breeder
Migration Types	Long Range
Zoography Zones	Mediterranean
Landscape Formations	Swamps, Wetland Thickets, Wetlands
Vegetation Formations	Wetland Thickets
Vegetation Densities	High
Nest Locations	Wetland Thickets
Diet Types	Invertebrate
Foraging Grounds	Trees and Shrubs
Body Sizes	Small (up to 500g)
Threat Factors	Wetland Drainage & Pollution

The Great Reed-warbler is an extremely rare breeder in the Hula Valley, a common passage migrant throughout Israel and a rare winter visitor in the Bet She’an Valley and the northern Dead Sea. Before the Hula Lake was drained, it was a common breeder there, as well as on the northern Coastal Plain and in the Bet She’an Valley. The breeding population decreased significantly after the marshes were drained and wetlands were contaminated and destroyed (during the 1950s and the 1960s). In the 1980s, a few pairs nested in the Hula Valley, northern Sea of Galilee and probably in the Bet She’an Valley (Paz 1986, Shirihai 1996). In recent years, however, there is evidence of nesting only from the Hula Valley, which is apparently sporadic and not annual.

Water bodies in Israel’s Mediterranean and steppe regions, with dense riparian vegetation and extensive reed beds. During migration, the Great Reed-warbler can also be seen in agricultural fields and vegetation thickets far from water.

Habitat modification – drainage and drying of wetlands in northern Israel, particularly the Hula Marshes, reduced the number of habitats occupied by the Great Reed-warbler, and possibly disturbed the competitive equilibrium with the more successful resident Clamorous Reed-warbler.

No specific conservation measures have been taken for this species to date.

The Great Reed-warbler once nested in marshes and thickets in the Northern Valleys. Its population declined drastically during the second half of the 20th century because of habitat destruction. The current breeding population is relictual, on the verge of extinction. The population that nested in northern Israel was the southern limit of the species range. There may be small populations still breeding in northern Jordan, Syria and Lebanon (Cramp & Simons 1992, BirdLife 2017) but no updated information is available.

Habitat rehabilitation and restoration – in order to improve the status of the Great Reed-warbler in Israel there is need for management of suitable breeding areas, such as the Hula, Bet Tsayda and Bet She’an valleys. Developing wetlands surrounded by extensive vegetation thickets could encourage re-establishment of the species in these areas.

Israel is one of the areas in the Great Reed-warbler’s range where there is an overlap with the closely related resident species Clamorous Reed-warbler. Both species apparently compete for the same resources, which may affect the survival and reproductive ability of the Great Reed-warbler.

• פז, ע. 1986. עופות. מתוך אלון, ע. (עורך), החי והצומח של ארץ ישראל. כרך 6. הוצאת משרד הביטחון, ישראל.

• Cramp, S and Simmons, R.G. 1992. The Birds of the Western Palearctic, Volume 6. Oxford University Press
• Shirihai, H., 1996. The Birds of Israel. Academic Press, London.
• Symes, A. 2013. Species generation lengths. Unpublished, BirdLife International.
• Species page at Birdlife International