Locally common but generally uncommon. Nomadic and migratory.
Habitat
Mostly rank grassland, rushland and sedgelands, often in and around, not not confined to, wetlands, including swamps, marshes, lagoons, dams, lakes and watercourses.
Voice
Sweet, descending song, somewhat like a Rufous Songlark (Cincloramphus mathewsi) or Superb Fairy-wren (Malurus cyaneus). A sharp 'jk-jk' uttered in alarm.
Tawny Grassbird (Cincloramphus timoriensis) [XC68688]
by Desmond Allen from Mindanao; Zamboanga, Cabo Negro, Philippines (song)
Tawny Grassbird (Cincloramphus timoriensis) [XC68686]
by Patrik \u00c5berg from Mindanao; Zamboanga, Pasonanca Watershed Reserve, Cabonegro, Philippines (song)
Breeding Season (Guide)
August - December in the south-east, February - August in the north.
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Nest
A deep, cup, composed of dried swamp grasses and lined with finer dried grasses and rootlets, at the base of a tuft of grass or rushes, usually very well hidden.
Eggs (Guide)
Usually 3, sometimes 2; pink, freckled with purple-brown and grey; long-oval; about 20 x 15 mm. Incubation: about 14 days; probably by female only.
Young
Probably altricial, nidicolous.
Subspecies
Forms a superspecies with Megalurulus macrurus, with which it is traditionally treated as conspecific.
The following 18 subspecies are recognised:
timoriensis (Wallace, 1864) - Timor.
tweeddalei (McGregor, 1908) - Northern and central Philippines (Luzon, Samar, Negros, Panay and adjacent small islands).
amboinensis (Salvadori, 1876) - Ambon, in southern Moluccas.
inquirendus (Siebers, 1928) - Sumba, in Lesser Sundas.
muscalis (Rand, 1938) - Southern New Guinea (R Fly area).
alisteri (Mathews, 1912) - Northern and eastern Australia, from north-eastern western Australia (Kimberleys) and northern Northern Territory east to northern and eastern Queensland, thence southern in eastern New South Wales to Sydney.
stresemanni Hartert, E, 1930 - North-western New Guinea.
mayri Hartert, E, 1930 - Northern New Guinea (Lake Sentani, Humboldt Bay to Astrolabe Bay).
wahgiensis Mayr & Gilliard, 1951 - Central Highlands of New Guinea.
montanus Mayr & Gilliard, 1951 - Central Highlands of New Guinea (Mt. Hagen and Mt. Wilhelm).
macrurus (Salvadori, 1876) - New Guinea, Bismarck Archipelago.
harterti Mayr, 1931 - North-eastern New Guinea.
alpinus Mayr & Rand, 1935 - High elevation west-central and central New Guinea.
interscapularis Sclater, PL, 1880 - Bismarck Arch.
The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9