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26

Little Grassbird

(Megalurus gramineus)
Alternate name(s): "Little Marshbird", "Striated Grassbird"
Size: 13-15 cm
Weight: 12 g (average)

Similar
species

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

Physical description

Click here for a physical description

Taxonomy, classification

See Little Grassbird at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species

Click here for information on habitat and range

Sightings

Click here for sighting information

Photos

Race "goulburni"

ADULT

MALE

Close-up frontal view of a Little Grassbird; this is the bird whose calls were recorded on 29 July 2022; if our interpretation of the calls is correct, this bird is a male
[Pilliga Lagoon, Pilliga, NSW, July 2022]

Sex unknown

Close-up frontal view of a Little Grassbird (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Wynnum Wetlands, Brisbane, QLD, August 2017]

Frontal view of a Little Grassbird; this is the bird whose calls were recorded on 10 March 2020
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, March 2020]

Close-up lateral view of a Little Grassbird (photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Ensay South, East Gippsland, VIC, January 2014]

Lateral view of a Little Grassbird in reeds
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, March 2020]

Little Grassbird in typical posture, now seen more sideways
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, August 2013]

Dorsal view of a Little Grassbird with its tail up high
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, September 2010]

Dorsal view of a Little Grassbird in reeds
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, August 2013]

Find the bird - who can spot the Little Grassbird?
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, August 2013]

Little Grassbird issuing its call
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, August 2013]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Close-up frontal view of a juvenile Little Grassbird looking sideways; note the characteristic yellow tinge around the bill
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Wynnum Wetlands, Brisbane, QLD, August 2017]

Close-up frontal view of a juvenile Little Grassbird looking sideways; note the characteristic yellow tinge around the bill
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Wynnum Wetlands, Brisbane, QLD, August 2017]

Race "thomasi"

ADULT

Sex unknown

Lateral view of a Little Grassbird in reeds (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Lake Claremont, Perth, WA, January 2015]

Near-dorsal view of a Little Grassbird, in a posture typical of this species, with the head down and the tail high up
(photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Lake Claremont, Perth, WA, January 2015]

Behaviour

Social behaviour: Territorial Mobility: Sedentary Elementary unit: Solitary/pair

Little Grassbirds are secretive birds that, although audible when calling, are very hard to find for visual identification.

Little Grassbird having a look around (click on image for overview) - this was the only time in half an hour's bird watch that one of four individuals was visible, other than when darting from one patch of reeds to another; this is one of the birds whose calls were recorded on 16 May 2018
[Pilliga, NSW, May 2018]

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.

A number of contact calls are presented here to document their variability, in particular in pitch.

ltgrass_20190616_2.m4a goulburni
(NW NSW)
Territorial call (male) © MD
ltgrass_20190616.m4a goulburni
(NW NSW)
Territorial calls (male) © MD
ltgrass_20220729_2.m4a goulburni
(NW NSW)
Territorial call (male) + "rattling" call response (female) © MD
ltgrass_20180516_3.m4a goulburni
(NW NSW)
Chirp (male) + "rattling" call response (female) © MD
ltgrass_20200310_1.m4a goulburni
(NW NSW)
? + territorial call (male) © MD
ltgrass_20200310_2.m4a goulburni
(NW NSW)
? (+ Eurasian Coot & Australian Reed-Warbler) © MD

More Little Grassbird 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.