African Reed Warbler

Near the town of Wakkerstroom, there is a wetland area which is easy to see from the roads which cross it at high level. We were very excited to hear this Reed Warbler calling and based on the call, identified it as a Eurasian species. The call was identical to the hundreds of birds we hear calling during the British breeding season. We immediately phoned the South Africa bird recorder who told us that this species would be a mega-rarity but impossible to separate from African Reed Warbler based on appearance and call. On this basis, we recorded it as African Reed Warbler although its real identity will remain an unsolved mystery.