Bristled grassbird

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Bristled grassbird
Bristledgrassbird DSC 7235 100813 dadri 01.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Locustellidae
Genus: Schoenicola
Species:
S. striatus
Binomial name
Schoenicola striatus
(Jerdon, 1841) [2]
Synonyms
  • Chaetornis striata(Jerdon, 1841)
  • Chaetornis striatusSibley and Monroe (1990, 1993)
  • Dasyornis colluriceps Blyth, 1842
  • Dasyornis locustelloides Blyth, 1842
  • Megalurus striatusJerdon, 1841 [3]
  • Chaetornis striata

The bristled grassbird (Schoenicola striatus) is a small passerine bird in the genus Schoenicola. Also known as the bristled grass warbler, this species is endemic to the Indian subcontinent, where it is patchily distributed in Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan. These insectivorous birds skulk in dense and tall grasslands, often in marshy areas, habitats that are threatened by human activities. Formerly considered to be sedentary, the species may be migratory, moving south and east in the Indian peninsula during winter and returning to their breeding grounds in the northern plains south of the Himalayas.

Contents

Description

This warbler is large and brownish with broad dark streaks to the feathers of the crown and back and can appear almost babbler-like in appearance (easily mistaken for common babbler). The tail is graduated with white tips to the feathers. The rachis of the tail feathers is dark and there are dark ribs to the feathers. The bill is strong. [4] The tarsus is brown and the bill is black with the lower mandible tipped bluish grey. [5] They have a buff supercilium (brow) and have a pale unmarked underside. [6]

This species was included in the "Old World warbler" family Sylviidae, in the genus Chaetornis [7] but more comprehensive studies on external morphology and DNA sequence studies, have led to its placement in the grass warbler family Locustellidae in the genus Schoenicola as a sister species of S. platyurus . [8]

This genus in the warbler family is distinctive in having a bare patch of skin in front of the eyes (the lores) on which a vertical row of five stiff rictal bristles arise and face forward. The bare skin is flexible and it is thought that the bristles provide protection to the eye as the bird scampers between the dense and rough grass by folding back and forming a kind of cage or visor over the eye . [9] The feathers on the breast are stiff and in some individuals the tips are dark giving it a necklaced appearance. The sexes are similar in plumage. [4]

Distribution and habitat

The habitat in which the bristled grassbird occurs is tall grass-covered marshlands. The distribution range is mainly in the northern part of the Indian Subcontinent. It was formerly described as common in at least Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Orissa, [10] Lahore (where they bred in the Rakh area), [11] parts of Bangladesh, and Nepal. [12] The species is threatened by the destruction of grassland and marshland habitats. The species was thought to be mainly sedentary with movements related to the rains but they may be migratory, breeding along the riverine plains south of the Himalayas and wintering further east and south in the peninsula of India. [6] [13]

Behaviour

Bristled grassbirds are hard to spot, usually seen briefly at the top of a grass clump but diving in and most often remaining hidden inside grass clumps where they forage for insect prey. Males display by rising above the grass to about a metre or so and zig-zag in the air before parachuting back down. They also call in flight with a rising and falling chwee-chew. The breeding season is from May to September and the nest is a ball of grass with an opening at the top and placed near the base of a grass clump. The usual clutch is four to five eggs, which are thought to be incubated by the female alone. [4] The eggs are white with purplish red speckles. [14]

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Related Research Articles

Old World warblers are a large group of birds formerly grouped together in the bird family Sylviidae. They are not closely related to the New World warblers. The family held over 400 species in over 70 genera, and were the source of much taxonomic confusion. Two families were split out initially, the cisticolas into Cisticolidae and the kinglets into Regulidae. In the past ten years they have been the subject of much research and many species are now placed into other families, including the Acrocephalidae, Cettiidae, Phylloscopidae, and Megaluridae. In addition some species have been moved into existing families or have not yet had their placement fully resolved. A smaller number of warblers, together with some babblers formerly placed in the family Timaliidae and the parrotbills, are retained in a much smaller family Sylviidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grass warbler</span> Genus of birds

The grass warblers are small passerine birds belonging to the genus Locustella. Formerly placed in the paraphyletic "Old World warbler" assemblage, they are now considered the northernmost representatives of a largely Gondwanan family, the Locustellidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jungle babbler</span> Species of bird

The jungle babbler is a member of the family Leiothrichidae found in the Indian subcontinent. Jungle babblers are gregarious birds that forage in small groups of six to ten birds, a habit that has given them the popular name of "Seven Sisters" in urban Northern India, and in Bengali, with cognates in other regional languages which also mean "seven brothers".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yellow-billed babbler</span> Species of brown-grey bird from southern India and Sri Lanka

The yellow-billed babbler is a member of the family Leiothrichidae endemic to southern India and Sri Lanka. The yellow-billed babbler is a common resident breeding bird in Sri Lanka and southern India. Its habitat is scrub, cultivation and garden land. This species, like most babblers, is not migratory, and has short rounded wings and a weak flight and is usually seen calling and foraging in groups. It is often mistaken for the jungle babbler, whose range overlaps in parts of southern India, although it has a distinctive call and tends to be found in more vegetated habitats. Its name is also confused with Turdoides leucocephala, which is also known as white-headed babbler.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yellow-eyed babbler</span> Species of bird

The yellow-eyed babbler is a passerine bird native to South and Southeast Asia. It inhabits shrubland, grassland and wetland habitats. On the IUCN Red List, it is listed as Least Concern because of its wide distribution and stable population.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerdon's babbler</span> Species of bird

Jerdon's babbler is a passerine bird native to wetlands and grasslands of the Indian sub-continent. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 1994. It is a member of the genus Chrysomma of the family Paradoxornithidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little grassbird</span> Species of bird

The little grassbird is a species of Old World warbler in the family Locustellidae. It is found in Australia and in West Papua, Indonesia. These sexually monomorphic birds are found in reed beds, rushes, lignum swamps and salt marshes of Southeastern Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Striated grassbird</span> Species of bird

The striated grassbird is an "Old World warbler" species in the family Locustellidae. It was formerly placed in the family Sylviidae. It is now the only species placed in the genus Megalurus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fan-tailed grassbird</span> Species of bird

The fan-tailed grassbird or broad-tailed warbler is an African species of Old World warbler in the family Locustellidae. The species is closely related to the broad-tailed grassbird of India, and is sometimes treated as the same species, although a 2018 study found that it and the broad-tailed grassbird were not closely related, with the Indian species being a sister of Chaetornis striata.

<i>Schoenicola</i> Genus of birds

Schoenicola is a genus of Old World warbler in the family Locustellidae. There are two species, both from peninsular India. The genus has been placed in the subfamily Megalurinae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Broad-tailed grassbird</span> Species of bird

The broad-tailed grassbird is a species of Old World warbler in the family Locustellidae. It is endemic to the Western Ghats of India with a possibility of occurrence in Sri Lanka. A small, mostly brown bird, it has a broad rounded and graduated tail. It is found only on the higher altitude grassy hills where it usually skulks, except during the breeding season when males fly up into the air to sing in their display. The species is believed to be a resident although it is possible that they make local movements.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Locustellidae</span> Family of birds

Locustellidae is a newly recognized family of small insectivorous songbirds ("warblers"), formerly placed in the Old World warbler "wastebin" family. It contains the grass warblers, grassbirds, and the Bradypterus "bush warblers". These birds occur mainly in Eurasia, Africa, and the Australian region. The family name is sometimes given as Megaluridae, but Locustellidae has priority.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wayanad laughingthrush</span> Species of bird

The Wayanad laughingthrush is a species of laughingthrush in the family Leiothrichidae. It is endemic to the Western Ghats south of Goa in India. These laughingthrushes move in groups in dense forests, producing loud calls but tend to be hard to spot in the undergrowth. They have brown upperparts, a white throat, a broad black mask through the eye and a heavy bill with pale yellow on the lower mandible. Despite the name, derived from the Wayanad region, this species has a wider range than the four other south Indian species of laughingthrush that are restricted to the higher elevation hills.

The Cordillera ground warbler, also known as Rabor's wren-babbler or the Luzon wren-babbler, is a species of bird currently placed in the family Locustellidae. It is endemic to the Philippines, where it is found in northwest Luzon in the foothills of the Cordillera Mountain Range. Some taxonomists continue to list the species in the Timaliidae, others in the Pellorneidae. Its natural habitat is tropical moist lowland forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.

Grassbird may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Macrosphenidae</span> Family of birds

The African warblers are a newly erected family Macrosphenidae, of African songbirds. Most of the species were formerly placed in the Old World warbler family Sylviidae, although one species, the rockrunner, was placed in the babbler family, Timaliidae. A series of molecular studies of the Old World warblers and other bird families in the superfamily Sylvioidea found that the African warblers were not part of Sylviidae but were instead an early (basal) offshoot of the entire clade Sylvioidea. Some taxonomic authorities place the entire family Hyliidae here.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bicol ground warbler</span> Species of bird

The Bicol ground warbler is a species of passerine bird in the family Locustellidae. It is endemic to the island of Luzon in the Philippines, where it is found in the southern parts of the island. Along with its other conspecifics, such as the Cordillera ground warbler and the Sierra Madre ground warbler, it is one of the most elusive birds in the country. Its natural habitat is tropical moist lowland forest. It is threatened by habitat loss.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pellorneidae</span> Family of birds

The jungle babblers are a family, Pellorneidae, of mostly Old World passerine birds belonging to the superfamily Sylvioidea. They are quite diverse in size and coloration, and usually characterised by soft, fluffy plumage and a tail on average the length of their body, or longer. These birds are found in tropical zones, with the greatest biodiversity in Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent.

References

  1. ↑ BirdLife International (2017) [amended version of 2016 assessment]. "Chaetornis striata". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2017: e.T22715559A111102835. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-1.RLTS.T22715559A111102835.en . Retrieved 17 December 2023.
  2. ↑ Dickinson, E.C.; Bruce, M.; Gregory, S.; Peterson, A.P.; Pittie, A. (2004). "The dating of names proposed in the first Supplement to Thomas Jerdon's Catalogue of the birds of the peninsula of India". The Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature. 61: 214–221.
  3. ↑ Jerdon, T.C. (1863). The Birds of India. Volume 2. Part 1. Calcutta: Military Orphan Press. pp. 72–73.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Ali, S.; Ripley, S. D. (1997). Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan. volume 8 (2nd ed.). New Delhi: Oxford University Press. pp. 93–94.
  5. ↑ Oates, Eugene W. (1889). The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma. Birds. Volume 1. London: Taylor and Francis. pp. 387–389.
  6. 1 2 3 Rasmussen, P.C.; Anderton, J.C. (2005). Birds of South Asia. Volume 2. pp. 515–516.
  7. ↑ Drovetski, S. V.; m. Zink, R. M.; v. Fadeev, I. V.; v. Nesterov, E. V.; a. Koblik, E. A.; a. Red'Kin, Y. A.; Rohwer, S. (2004). "Mitochondrial phylogeny of Locustella and related genera". J. Avian Biol. 35 (2): 105–110. doi:10.1111/j.0908-8857.2004.03217.x.
  8. ↑ Alström, Per; Cibois, Alice; Irestedt, Martin; Zuccon, Dario; Gelang, Magnus; Fjeldså, Jon; Andersen, Michael J.; Moyle, Robert G.; Pasquet, Eric (2018). "Comprehensive molecular phylogeny of the grassbirds and allies (Locustellidae) reveals extensive non-monophyly of traditional genera, and a proposal for a new classification". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 127: 367–375. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2018.03.029. ISSN   1055-7903. PMID   29625229.
  9. ↑ Whistler, Hugh (1929). "The study of Indian birds. Part III. Some external characteristics of birds". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 33 (4): 776–792.
  10. ↑ Ball, Valentine (1876). "Notes on some birds collected at Sambalpur and Orissa". Stray Feathers. 4: 231–237.
  11. ↑ Currie, A.J. (1916). "The occurrence of the Bristled Grass-Warbler Chaetornis locustelloides at Lahore". J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 24 (3): 593–594.
  12. ↑ Heath, P.J.; Thorns, D.M. (1989). "Bristled Grass Warbler Chaetornis striatus new to and breeding in Nepal, and its separation from Large Grass Warbler Graminicola bengalensis". Forktail. 4: 118–121.
  13. ↑ Butler, E.A. (1877). "The Avifauna of Mount Aboo and North Gujerat". Stray Feathers. 5: 207–236.
  14. ↑ Baker, E.C.S. Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma. Birds. Volume 2 (2nd ed.). London: Taylor and Francis. pp. 438–439.
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