Megalurus timoriensis
Silhouette: Afsarnayakkan · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
The tawny grassbird (Cincloramphus timoriensis) is a large songbird that is a member of the family Locustellidae commonly found in grassland and reedbed habitats. It is streaked above and has a distinctive rich brown cap. Its underside is paler and it has a long graduated tail. They call often with "loud, grumpy churring calls and a longer call that starts tick-tick-tick-tick and ends with an explosive descending trill".
The tawny grassbird has 10 identified sub-species found in Australia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and the Philippines. The family Locustellidae was named by Bonaparte in 1854 and is derived from the genus name Locustella named by Kemp in 1829. The term "grassbird" was used by Gould during the mid 19th century to signify a strong correlation to long grass habitats. The tawny grassbird has also been known as tawny sphenoeacus, grassbird, tawny or rufous-capped marshbird, rufous-capped grass-warbler and rufous-capped grassbird. Grass-warbler tends to be used in Asia rather than Australia. Genetic studies indicate a close relationship to songlarks.
Ten subspecies are recognised: Wikipedia →
Recording0:26
Australia · 2023
© Martin Rady · iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0
Recording0:12
Australia · 2026
© Blake · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
Recording0:18
Australia · 2024
© danicalockett · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Noosa National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Springbrook National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Kakadu National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 4 | Daintree National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 5 | Royal National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 6 | Lamington National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Tawny Grassbird sighting in Brisbane on a given day, based on 3,113 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 52nd most-seen of the 237 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January and November
In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Tawny Grassbird in Brisbane on a given day, against about 10% in July, the lowest month.
Yes
Of the 6 cities where we can rate Tawny Grassbird sightings, Brisbane has the highest daily chance: about 20%. Next come Cebu City (Philippines, about 10%) and Davao City (Philippines, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Tawny Grassbird is recorded against all the birds logged in Brisbane (3,113 verified sightings), 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.
