Western Grasswren (Amytornis textilis)

Family
Maluridae (Fairy-wrens)

Size
15 - 20 cm

First Described (Guide)
(Dumont, 1824)

Derivation
A-my-torn'-is - Gk, amytis, daughter of Astyages; Gk, ornis, a bird: tex'-til-is - L., woven

Habitat
Sandy lowlands, depressions in gibber plains with dense low saltbush, bluebush, cottonbush and nitrebush. Also clumps of canegrass on watercourses.

Range (Guide)

South-western Australia, south-western Northern Territory, and much of South Australia.

Status LC
Habitat desctruction from grazing is the main threat.

Habits
Usually in pairs or small groups.

Food
Insects and other invertebrates, seeds and fruits.

Voice
High-pitched alarm squeaks. Low, chirping 'teck-teck'. Song: clear and silvery.

Xeno-Canto Sound Files (more (1)...)

Western Grasswren (Amytornis textilis) [XC107871]
by Mark Carter from Monkey Mia, Shark Bay, Australia (song)

Western Grasswren (Amytornis textilis) [XC107869]
by Matthias Feuersenger from Monkey Mia, Shark Bay, Australia (call)

Nest
Domed, occasionally cup-shaped, composed of bark, grass and plant stems, lined with finer materials, placed in the center of a low bush.

Eggs (Guide)
2 - 3; dull cream-white, closely speckled and blotched all over with red-browns and greys; swollen-oval; about 21 x 15 mm. Incubation: said to be 15 - 17 days; both sexes.

Young
Altricial, nidicolous. Fledge in about 10 - 12 days.

Subspecies
Sometimes been treated as conspecific with Dusky Grasswren (Amytornis purnelli).

The following 5 subspecies are recognised:

textilis (Dumont, 1824) - Central-western WA, formerly from Dirk Hartog Island and Shark Bay, south-east through Wiluna and the Wheatbelt to the eastern fringes of the Great Victoria Desert and the Nullarbor Plain.
carteri ! (Mathews, 1917) - Dirk Hartog I, Western Australia.
giganturus ! (Milligan, 1901) - Central-western Western Australia.
macrourus ! (Gould, 1847) - South-western Australia.
myall (Mathews, 1916) - Northern Eyre Peninsula, north-west towards the eastern edge of the Nullarbor Plain.

Similar Species
Eyrean Grasswren (Amytornis goyderi) which has lighter underparts, Striated Grasswren (Amytornis striatus) which has a prominent black moustachial stripe, and Dusky Grasswren (Amytornis purnelli) which is darker, slimmer billed and has rufous lores and buff-grey underparts.

References
See References.

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

Files:

JPG files for Western Grasswren (Amytornis textilis) - 10 files

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