Thick-billed Grasswren - BirdForum Opus

Amytornis modestus

Identification

Dull greyish-brown, fine, dark-edged whitish streaks, paler underparts.

Distribution

Australia.

Taxonomy

Formerly considered conspecific with Western Grasswren; see also Birdforum discussion^[5].

Subspecies^[1]

Seven subspecies recognized:

• A. m. modestus formerly in central Australia (southern Northern Territory), last reported 1936
• A. m. indulkanna in western Lake Eyre Basin, south central Australia
• A. m. cowarie in northeastern South Australia (southern Sturt Stony Desert)
• A. m. raglessi in western Lake Eyre Basin, south central Australia
• A. m. curnamona in east central South Australia (southwestern Lake Frome Basin)
• A. m. obscurior in southeastern Australia (Grey Range periphery, northwestern New South Wales)
• A. m. inexpectatus formerly southwestern and north central New South Wales, last reported 1898

Habitat

Thick bushes and shrubby vegetation. Particularly acacia-dominated shrublands, dense shrub associations in drainage depressions, and Triodia spinifex with acacia shrubland components.

Behaviour

Diet

The diet consists of a wide variety of insects, from termites, to spiders, also caterpillars, grass seeds and small berries.

Diet

The female builds a hooded, deep, cup-shaped nest formed from strips of bark and dry grass, lined with fine dry grass and sometimes flowers or feathers. The 1-4 eggs are laid at 40-48 hour intervals. Both sexes incubate the eggs for 15-17 days, and feed the young.

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2016. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2016, with updates to August 2016. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Gill, F and D Donsker (Eds). 2010. IOC World Bird Names (version 2.7). Available at http://www.worldbirdnames.org/.
3. environment.gov.au
4. BF Member observations
5. Birdforum thread discussing taxonomy of Grasswrens

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Thick-billed Grasswren. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 13 September 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Thick-billed_Grasswren

External Links

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