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16

Striated Grasswren (Amytornis striatus) Alternate name(s): "Striped Grass-wren", "Rufous Grasswren", "Rusty Grasswren" "Pilbara Grasswren", "Sandhill Grasswren" Size: 14.5-19.5 cm Weight: 15-21 g

Australia: Family Group 16 Family Group 16 Table Purple-crowned Fairy-wren White-winged Fairy-wren Splendid Fairy-wren Superb Fairy-wren Variegated Fairy-wren Purple-backed Fairy-wren Blue-breasted Fairy-wren Lovely Fairy-wren Red-wingeded Fairy-wren Red-backed Fairy-wren Southern Emu-wren Rufous-crowned Emu-wren Carpentarian Grasswren Eyrean Grasswren Striated Grasswren Thick-billed Grasswren Western Grasswren Dusky Grasswren Kalkadoon Grasswren Thumbnails page Family group table Index of bird names Habitat pages Key plants Birds home page

Similar species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Striated Grasswrens are very small, grey-brown birds with long tails. Their cryptic plumage is dimorphic, i.e. males and females are slightly different. In most races both sexes are grey-brown on the head and back, with white streaking. The lores are rufous and under a white spot under each eye they have a black moustachial stripe on each side of the white throat. The chest is light-grey streaked with darker grey, while the belly is fawn. The wings and the tail are brown and dark-grey. The only difference between the two sexes is that female Striated Grasswrenss have rufous patches on the flanks which males don't have. The irises of both sexes are dark-brown. The slender bill is grey, with a darker grey tip, while legs and feet are dark-grey. Juveniles are similar to adults, but with paler colours. In particular, they do not have rufous markings on the lores or moustachial stripes yet. Their legs are the colour of skin.

Taxonomy, classification See Striated Grasswren at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The various races of what is considered by many to be one species, Amytornis striatus, are treated as different species, for which separate distribution maps are provided. The overall distribution of Amytornis striatus "striatus", the Striated Grasswren, is available HERE . The overall distribution of Amytornis striatus "rowleyi", the Rusty Grasswren, is available HERE . The overall distribution of Amytornis striatus "oweni", the Sandhill Grasswren, is available HERE . The overall distribution of Amytornis striatus "whitei", the Pilbara Grasswren, is available HERE . Striated Grasswrens are endemic to Australia. As is the case with all species of grasswrens, their overall distribution is complex, patchy and highly irregular. Some races also have very restricted ranges. This is mainly caused by the fact that grasswrens are rather poor fliers and individual populations, once separated, will not merge again, leading to a separation of the gene pools.Nominate race "striatus" of the Striated Grasswren is found in only three small patches. One is located in cental western NSW, the others are in the north-western corner of VIC and in far-eastern SA, near the border with VIC and NSW. Race "oweni", which is bar far the most widespread, populates the base of Eyre peninsula in SA and a large swath of the semi-arid to arid interior ranging from central WA via the south-western quarter of the NT and the north-western corner of SA to the NT/QLD border near Birdsville, QLD. The range of race "rowleyi" is restricted to a small area in central western QLD spanning from Winton, QLD, to Opalton, QLD, and about 50 km to the East and 100 km to the South of Opalton. Race "whitei" has a range extending northward of a line connecting Coral Bay, WA, and Telfer, WA, encompassing the lower parts of the three major rivers in the Pilbara in north-western WA (Ashburton River, Fortesque River, de Grey River), but avoiding a narrow coastal margin from the North-west Cape to Eighty-Mile-Beach. Striated Grasswrens have a strong preference for semi-arid habitats dominated by tall tussocks of Triodia ("Spinifex") grass. In some cases the grass can be mixed with shrubs or small trees. Races "whitei" and "rowleyi" occur on rocky slopes and ridges. Race "striatus" prefers sandy environments.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "rowleyi" M. Eaton reports finding Striated Grasswrens, race "rowleyi", near Opalton, QLD, in June 2021, and again in August 2022. All sighting, photographic and audio information presented on this page has been kindly contributed by M. Eaton.

Photos

Race "rowleyi"

This race is also called the "Rusty Grasswren" or the "Opalton Grasswren". Note the rusty-coloured appearance giving them their name.

ADULT

MALE

Frontal view of a male Striated Grasswren; note the absence of rufous patches on the flanks (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Near Opalton, QLD, June 2021]

Frontal view of a male Striated Grasswren (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Near Opalton, QLD, June 2021]

Frontal view of a male Striated Grasswren (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Near Opalton, QLD, June 2021]

Near-frontal view of a male Striated Grasswren (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Near Opalton, QLD, June 2021]

Close-up lateral view of a male Striated Grasswren in mellow light (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Near Opalton, QLD, June 2021]

Lateral view of a male Striated Grasswren (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Near Opalton, QLD, June 2021]

FEMALE

Frontal view of a female Striated Grasswren; note rufous patch on the flank characterising this bird as a female
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Near Opalton, QLD, August 2022]

Frontal view of a female(?) Striated Grasswren (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Near Opalton, QLD, August 2022]

Partly obscured frontal view of a female Striated Grasswren in Triodia ("Spinifex") grass (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Near Opalton, QLD, June 2021]

Near-frontal view of a female Striated Grasswren (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Near Opalton, QLD, August 2022]

Lateral view of a female Striated Grasswren; note the rufous patch on the flank (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Near Opalton, QLD, June 2021]

Close-up near-dorsal view of a female Striated Grasswren (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Near Opalton, QLD, August 2022]

Near-dorsal view of a female Striated Grasswren (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Near Opalton, QLD, June 2021]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Lateral view of a fledgling Striated Grasswren looking towards the observer (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Near Opalton, QLD, August 2022]

Lateral view of a fledgling Striated Grasswren (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Near Opalton, QLD, August 2022]

Lateral view of a fledgling Striated Grasswren (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Near Opalton, QLD, August 2022]

Food, Diet

Lateral view of a female Striated Grasswren with a moth, in this case food for its fledgling young (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Near Opalton, QLD, August 2022]

Call(s)/Song

For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The interpretation of their meaning is our own; comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

strgwrn_me_20210604.m4a	rowleyi (Ctl QLD)	Contact calls (Q&A)	© ME
strgwrn_me_20210604_2.m4a	rowleyi (Ctl QLD)	Warning/alarm calls (human)	© ME

More Striated Grasswren sound recordings are available at xeno-canto.org .

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

Would you like to contribute photos or sound recordings to this site? If interested, please CLICK HERE. Credits to contributors are given HERE.

Disclaimer: Comments are always welcome. We give no guarantee that the information presented on these pages is always correct or up-to-date. External links are marked as such and we take no responsibility for the contents of external pages. All images on this site are protected by copyright & used by permission of the respective owners. If you wish to reproduce them or any of the material presented on this web site, please contact us: We hereby acknowledge the original custodians of the land which is described on these pages, including the Gomeroi/Gamilaraay people of the North-west Slopes and Plains of NSW, and the traditional owners of other lands and nations within this country. We acknowledge elders past, present and emerging. Sovereignty was never ceded.          Last updated: Sun, 13 November 2022, 2:50 +00:00