A small, dark, rusty warbler of waterside scrub and thickets; noisy spring song; striking pale stripe over eye.

In spring and summer, waterside sedge and nettle beds, banks of rosebay willowherb, hawthorn clumps, and reedbed edges are enlivened by Sedge Warblers in full song. They are less restricted to reedbeds than Reed Warblers, for while they often breed alongside them they are frequently found by quite small ditches or even thickets away from open water.