Thick-billed Grasswren

Identificazione

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.

Tassonomia

The thick-billed grasswren was formerly considered as conspecific with the western grasswren until split as a separate species in 2010.<p>Seven subspecies have been identified in recent studies (Black 2011, 2016; Austin et al. 2013):

Nome scientifico

Amytornis modestus

Autorità

(North, 1902)

Ordine

Passeriformi

Famiglia

Maluridae

Genere

Amytornis

Areale e habitat

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. It is also speculated to still occur in fragmented populations in the Grey Range of Sturt National Park.<p>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.

Migrazione

Specie stanziale

Comportamento

Comportamento migratorio: Specie stanziale.

Conservazione

Tendenza della popolazione: in diminuzione.

Tendenza della popolazione

in diminuzione