Derivation
A-my-torn'-is - Gk, amytis, daughter of Astyages; Gk, ornis, a bird: mod-est'-us - L., modest
Habitat
Sandy lowlands, depressions in gibber plains with dense low saltbush, bluebush, cottonbush and nitrebush. Also clumps of canegrass on watercourses.
Thick-billed Grasswren (Amytornis modestus) [XC327273]
by id from Lyndhurst, South Australia, 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 8 subspecies are recognised:
modestus (North, 1902) - Sandy beds of watercourses within the mountains of central Australia, in northern Territory.
indulkanna (Mathews, 1916) - Western Lake Eyre basin in South Australia.
raglessi Black, 2011 - North Flinders Ranges, South Australia.
curnamona Black, 2011 - Southern Lake Frome basin, South Australia.
obscurior (Mathews, 1923) - Grey Range periphery in north-western New South Wales.
cowarie Black, 2016 - North-eastern South Australia (southern Sturt Stony Desert).
inexpectatus (Mathews, 1912) - Eastern New South Wales.
'eyre’ ? - Stony plains east of Lake Eyre (SA), within a partially resolved drainage into the Warburton River below Goyder Lagoon in the Diamantina River system.
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
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BirdLife International Species Factsheet