Bristled Grassbird
Schoenicola striatus
Large brown warbler with a streaked back and a long broad tail. Chunkier and shorter-tailed than much larger Striated Grassbird. Clambers around the dense tall grasses of lowland grasslands; favors areas with scattered shrubbery. Reclusive and will generally not flush twice in succession. Song a springy “wee-chew, chewa-wee!”, given from top of vegetation or in flight.
Identification
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. The tarsus is brown and the bill is black with the lower mandible tipped bluish grey. They have a buff supercilium (brow) and have a pale unmarked underside.<p>This species was included in the "Old World warbler" family Sylviidae, in the genus Chaetornis 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.<p>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 . 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.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Schoenicola striatus
- Authority
- (Jerdon, 1841)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Locustellidae
- Genus
- Schoenicola
Range 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, Lahore (where they bred in the Rakh area), parts of Bangladesh, and Nepal. 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.
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Behavior
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. The eggs are white with purplish red speckles.
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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