Megalurus mathewsi
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The rufous songlark (Cincloramphus mathewsi) is a species in the family Locustellidae endemic to Australia. It is a species of Locustellidae, which includes the grass warblers and grassbirds. The rufous songlark was described by English ornithologist Tom Iredale in 1911. An alternative generic name Cincloramphus is derived from Greek words cinclus/κιγκλος "wagtail" and ramphos/ραμφος "beak", while the specific epithet honours Gregory Mathews.
As well as rufous songlark, other common names include red-rumped songlark, rufous singing lark, and skylark. The rufous songlark is a medium brown passerine songbird with a pattern of streaks on its feathers. Encyclopædia Britannica describes this bird as "drab and vaguely larklike". It has a dark line through its eye, a pale eyebrow and pale underparts, and a rufous upper tail and rump. A little larger than a house sparrow, the male grows to about 19 cm (7.5 in) in length and is larger than the female which reaches only about 16 cm (6.3 in).
This species is similar to the brown songlark but males of that species are much larger than those of the rufous songlark. Brown songlark females also lack the rufous rump... Wikipedia →
Recording0:34
Australia · 2026
© amck98 · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
Recording0:11
Australia · 2025
© deborod · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
Recording0:03
Australia · 2024
© JEM88789 · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Hattah-Kulkyne National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Flinders Ranges National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 4 | Ningaloo Marine Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 5 | Cape Range | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 6 | Kosciuszko National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 7 | Grampians National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 8 | Kakadu National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 9 | Blue Mountains National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Rufous Songlark sighting in Cape Range on a given day, based on 13 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 80th most-seen of the 84 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Rufous Songlark in Cape Range on a given day, against under 5% in March–May and July–January, the lowest months. That is one of Cape Range's wettest months, with about 55 mm of rain against almost none in October. February has too few records to rate.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Rufous Songlark sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
5th of 9
Of the 9 parks where we can rate Rufous Songlark sightings, Cape Range ranks 5th at under 5%. The best odds are in Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park (Australia, about 40%), Hattah-Kulkyne National Park (Australia, about 10%) and Flinders Ranges National Park (Australia, under 5%).
Same order: Passeriformes
The closest relatives of the Rufous Songlark that you can see in Cape Range (order Passeriformes, Perching Birds) are Pied Butcherbird (about 70%), Singing Honeyeater (about 60%) and Western Bowerbird (about 50%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Rufous Songlark is recorded against all the birds logged in Cape Range (13 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
