Little Grassbird
Poodytes gramineus· 蝗莺科(1 photos)
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Little Grassbird
13-15 cm. Skulking little bird of wetlands. Olive-brown crown/upperparts heavily streaked black; eyebrow pale; underparts greyish-fawn, with fine black streaks; tail longish, pointed. Sneaks to tops of bushes to view intruder, drops out of sight; runs over mud, floating vegetation. In flight, tail without bars or white tips.
- Similar Species
- Tawny Grassbird.
- Voice
- mournful, trisyllabic 'p-peee-pee'; scolding rattle.
- Habitat
- dense wetland vegetation: cumbungi, reeds, rushes, cane-grass, lignum; vegetation on bore drains; tidal marshes, salt lakes; mangroves.
- Breeding
- Aug.-Dec., or after rain.
- Nest
- deep, cup; of grass, stems; lined with feathers; in grass, reeds, low shrubs.
- Eggs
- 3-5; whitish/pink-white, speckled greyish, red-purple, in zone on large end.
- Range & Status
- e. and sw. Aust., Bass Strait islands, Tas., w. to Eyre Pen. (SA), Gulf coast (Q). Patchy through inland in pockets of suitable habitat to Kununurra (n. WA). Locally common. Sedentary; dispersive.
- Distribution key to races
- 1. Megalurus gramineus goulburni 2. Megalurus gramineus gramineus 3. Megalurus gramineus thomasi
