| Thick-billed grasswren | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Maluridae |
| Genus: | Amytornis |
| Species: | A. modestus |
| Binomial name | |
| Amytornis modestus (North, 1902) | |
| Subspecies | |
See text | |
| Synonyms | |
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The thick-billed grasswren (Amytornis modestus) is a species of bird in the family Maluridae. It is endemic to Australia. Its natural habitat is Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation.
The thick-billed grasswren was formerly considered as conspecific with the western grasswren until split as a separate species in 2010. [2]
Seven subspecies have been identified in recent studies (Black 2011, 2016; Austin et al. 2013): [3] [4] [5]
The thick-billed grasswren has dull brown underparts, a long dark-brown tail and noticeable white streaking on the head. It has white streaks continuing down the neck, throat and down to the rump. The white streaks across the chin to the forehead and along the wings and rump, contrast with the red-brown to grey colours of the feathers. Males have distinguishably longer tails. Females also have chestnut flanks. Vocals are a combination of short high-pitched song, repeated. They have a soft, high-pitched call that is often inaudible to human ears.
The thick-billed grasswren is endemic to Australia and is found throughout the arid regions of northwestern New South Wales, northern parts of South Australia, through to southern sections of the Northern Territory. [6] [7] It is also speculated to still occur in fragmented populations in the Grey Range of Sturt National Park.
Chenopod scrublands (consisting largely of saltbush), sandhill cane-grass and flood debris in dry, sandy watercourses. They favour the scrublands with dense chenopod bushes. These denser shrublands usually occur in lower-lying areas, such as watercourses and drainage lines.
Thick-billed grasswrens are usually sedentary, with these elusive birds seen running, hopping or rarely flying, between vegetative cover to remain undetected. They can also be seen foraging for food at ground level around vegetation. Wrens have a generalist beak type that allows them to eat a range of foods. The thick bill allows for tougher seeds and other food niches to be accessed, compared with the smaller fairy wren species. If disturbed, individuals take refuge in any existing cover – usually vegetation or piles of old flood debris along dry sandy watercourses and even down rabbit burrows. They are often seen solitarily or in pairs. Sources vary, but mating pairs maintain between five, and 20 to 40 hectare territories year-round and rarely, possibly never, band with their neighbours outside the breeding season. Family groups are sometimes seen during the post-fledgling period, while the young are still dependent on their parents. [8] The feather patterns/markings imitate their preferred habitat as a form of camouflage.
Breeding occurs between July and September. Nests can usually be seen in low branches in saltbush, can-grass and other similar vegetation. The nest composes of loose grass and bark in the shape of a half dome, with finer grass, fur, feathers lining the nest. One to three (usually two) eggs of various colourings of white, cream and pink; with blotches of red-brown or purplish grey. They have an incubation period of two weeks and fledge in 10–12 days. The estimated generation length of the thick-billed grasswren is four years .
The thick-billed grasswren eats mainly insects and other small invertebrates, as well as plant seeds and berries.
The main threat to thick-billed grasswrens is loss of habitat through clearing and overgrazing by hard-hooved animals, such as sheep and goats that trample the vegetation. This reduces the area and quality of the habitat that the thick-billed grasswren prefer, particularly the larger shrubs that provide prime habitat for breeding. Habitat modification has also occurred due to rabbits. Feral species, such as foxes and cats are major threats due to predation.
High-frequency bushires are also a threat to the quality of habitat. Higher frequency of fires disrupts the life-cycle processes of the thick-billed grasswren, as well as the plants and macroinvertebrates that they depend on. All threats have been compounded by droughts over the past decade. Changes in expected environmental conditions will also challenge tolerance ranges and exacerbate the impacts of existing threats to the species.
The thick-billed grasswren is a poor flyer, and because of this has a poor dispersal capability and is highly susceptible to population fragmentation.
The thick-billed grasswren was listed as a vulnerable species under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) on 26 July 2000, and as critically endangered under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 (NSW) (February 2022 list) in New South Wales. However the IUCN Red List (2021.3 list) accords it a status of "least concern", as of July 2022 [update] . [9]
The subspecies Amytornis modestus obscurior (north-west NSW) is listed as critically endangered by both the New South Wales and Commonwealth Governments. [10]
A 2018 study ranked the species eighth in a list of Australian birds most likely to go extinct. [11]
The Australasian wrens are a family, Maluridae, of small, insectivorous passerine birds endemic to Australia and New Guinea. While commonly known as wrens, they are unrelated to the true wrens. The family comprises 32 species in six genera.
Threatened fauna of Australia are those species and subspecies of birds, fish, frogs, insects, mammals, molluscs, crustaceans, and reptiles to be found in Australia that are in danger of becoming extinct. This article lists species classified as threatened species under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
The grey grasswren is a passerine bird in the Australasian wren family, Maluridae. It is found on arid inland floodplains of Australia where it is endemic. The grey grasswren is a rarely seen elusive bird that was first sighted in 1921 but not taxonomically described until 1968. Its greyish coloration and very long tail distinguish it from all other grasswrens. While some recent research has been conducted, there still remain many gaps in the knowledge about the ecology of this cryptic bird.
Grasswrens (Amytornis) are a genus of birds in the Australasian wren family, Maluridae.
The Carpentarian grasswren is a species of bird in the family Maluridae. It is endemic to Australia.
The Eyrean grasswren is a small grasswren from the Passerine family Maluridae. This is a cryptically plumaged and uncommon bird endemic to arid regions of Central Australia. The species was discovered by F.W. Andrews in 1874 around the Macumba River at Lake Eyre, and named after the South Australian Surveyor General George Woodroffe Goyder.
The black grasswren, known as dalal to the Wunambal people, is a species of bird in the family Maluridae. It is endemic to Western Australia.
The short-tailed grasswren is a species of bird in the family Maluridae. It is endemic to Australia. Its natural habitats are temperate shrubland and rocky areas.
The dusky grasswren is a species of small passerine bird in the family Maluridae. The species is endemic to Australia but is limited to inland areas of the Northern Territory, Western Australia and South Australia.
The striated grasswren is a small, cryptically coloured ground-dwelling species of wren-like bird in the family Maluridae, endemic to Australia. It occupies a large discontinuous range across arid and semi-arid areas of western, central and southern Australia where it is associated with spinifex (Triodia) grass.
The white-throated grasswren, also known as Yirlinkirrkirr in the local language, is a species of bird in the family Maluridae. It is endemic to northern Australia, found only in West Arnhem Land, in the Northern Territory (NT).
The purple-crowned fairywren is a species of bird in the Australasian wren family, Maluridae. It is the largest of the eleven species in the genus Malurus and is endemic to northern Australia. The species name is derived from the Latin word cǒrōna meaning "crown", owing to the distinctive purple circle of crown feathers sported by breeding males. Genetic evidence shows that the purple-crowned fairywren is most closely related to the superb fairywren and splendid fairywren. Purple-crowned fairywrens can be distinguished from other fairywrens in northern Australia by the presence of cheek patches and the deep blue colour of their perky tails.
The red-backed fairywren is a species of passerine bird in the Australasian wren family, Maluridae. It is endemic to Australia and can be found near rivers and coastal areas along the northern and eastern coastlines from the Kimberley in the northwest to the Hunter Region in New South Wales. The male adopts a striking breeding plumage, with a black head, upperparts and tail, and a brightly coloured red back and brown wings. The female has brownish upperparts and paler underparts. The male in eclipse plumage and the juvenile resemble the female. Some males remain in non-breeding plumage while breeding. Two subspecies are recognised; the nominate M. m.melanocephalus of eastern Australia has a longer tail and orange back, and the short-tailed M. m. cruentatus from northern Australia has a redder back.
The southern emu-wren is a species of bird in the Australasian wren family, Maluridae. It is endemic to Australia. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, and Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation, and swamplands.
The mallee emu-wren is a species of bird in the Australasian wren family, Maluridae. It is endemic to Australia.
The Kalkadoon grasswren, also called the Ballara grasswren, is a species of passerine bird in the family Maluridae. It is endemic to Australia.
The Yathong Nature Reserve is a protected nature reserve that is also a nationally and internationally recognized biosphere situated in the central-western region of New South Wales, in eastern Australia. The 107,240-hectare (265,000-acre) reserve was listed by UNESCO in 1977 as a Biosphere Reserve under the Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB). The reserve is significant for its biodiversity in both native plant and animal species. Cultural heritage and historical grazing activities add to the significance of this site as a conservation area.
The western grasswren, also referred to as the thick-billed grasswren and, formerly, as the textile wren, is a species of bird in the family Maluridae. It is endemic to Australia. It was formerly lumped as the nominate subspecies of the thick-billed grasswren.
The purple-backed fairywren is a fairywren that is native to Australia. Described by Alfred John North in 1901, it has four recognised subspecies. In a species that exhibits sexual dimorphism, the brightly coloured breeding male has chestnut shoulders and azure crown and ear coverts, while non-breeding males, females and juveniles have predominantly grey-brown plumage, although females of two subspecies have mainly blue-grey plumage. Distributed over much of the Australian continent, the purple-backed fairywren is found in scrubland with plenty of vegetation providing dense cover.
The Opalton grasswren is an insectivorous bird in the family Maluridae. It is found in the Forsyth Range, Queensland, Australia. Formerly considered a sub-species of the striated grasswren, then known as the rusty grasswren. It is found around the opal mining area of Opalton and Lark Quarry south of Winton, Western Queensland. It was named as a full species by the I.O.C. in July 2020.
Compiled by J.W. Hardy for the Australian Bird Study Association Inc. and reproduced with permission of BirdLife Australia
Barrett, G.W., Silcocks, A.F., Cunningham, R., Oliver, D.L., Weston, M.A. & Baker, J. (2007). Comparison of atlas data to determine the conservation status of bird species in New South Wales, with an emphasis on woodland-dependent species. Australian Zoologist, 34, 37–77.
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Garnett, S. & Crowley, G. (Eds) (2000). ‘The Action Plan for Australian Birds 2000’. (Environment Australia: Canberra).
Government of South Australia, South Australian Arid Lands Natural Resource Management Board (2011). Fact sheet: thick-billed grasswrens. Retrieved from www.saalnrm.sa.gov.au
Higgins, P.J., Peter, J.M. & Steele WK (Eds) (2001). Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds, vol. 5. (Oxford University Press: Melbourne).
McAllan, IAW (1987). Early records of the Thick-billed Grasswren Amytornis textilis and Striated Grasswren Amytornis striatus. Australian Birds 21, 33–34.
McAllan, IAW (2000). On some New South Wales records of the Grey Grasswren and the Thickbilled Grasswren. Australian Bird Watcher, 18, 244–246.
NPWS (2002). Thick-billed Grasswren (eastern subspecies) Amytornis textilis modestus (North, 1902) Recovery Plan. NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, Hurstville NSW.
Pizzey, G., & Knight, F. (2012). The field guide to the birds of Australia. HarperCollins Publishers: Australia.
