Small bird (approx 14 cm or 5.5 in). Brown upperparts with light olive tones and mottled in dark colour. Pale or yellowish underparts with striped flanks. The tail is rounded with long, speckled feathers.
Wetlands and Scrubland
Species linked to grasslands and meadows with high herbaceous vegetation and scattered scrub. During its migrations, it is also present in cultivation areas such as fields of lucerne, corn and sugarcane.
Bird present during its migratory passage in the province. A long-distance migrator, the Common Grasshopper Warbler spends the winter south of the Sahara. It breeds from April. One annual laying of 3 to 7 eggs. Nest on the ground. This bird is a very discrete species that hardly emits sounds and that moves near the ground protected by vegetation, where it looks for the insects that it feeds on.
Regular but rare and little abundant species in Malaga. It searches for humid areas and crops for its migratory scales. It is possible to watch this warbler especially in the low fertile valley and mouth of the Guadalhorce river (stage 35 of the Great Path).
The name given to this bird is due to its habit of moving among the grass in small hops avoiding to take flight unless necessary. If attention is paid, it can be noted that, when doing it and between each hop, it opens and closes its wide tail as if it were a fan when hiding again among the vegetation. It moves like a mouse among the undergrowth, climbing even by the stems of the herbs.
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