Locustellidae – Grassbirds & Allies
The Locustellidae are a newly recognized family of small insectivorous warblers & others, formerly placed in the Old World warbler ‘wastebin’ family. It contains the grass warblers, grassbirds, and the Bradypterus ‘bush warblers’. These birds occur mainly in Eurasia, Africa, and the Australian region. The family name is sometimes given as Megaluridae, but Locustellidae has priority.
The species are smallish birds with tails that are usually long and pointed; the scientific name of the genus Megalurus in fact means ‘the large-tailed one’ in plain English. They are less wren-like than the typical shrub-warblers (Cettia) but like these drab brownish or buffy all over. They tend to be larger and slimmer than Cettia though, and many have bold dark streaks on wings and/or underside. Most live in scrubland and frequently hunt food by clambering through thick tangled growth or pursuing it on the ground; they are perhaps the most terrestrial of the warblers. Very unusual for Passeriformes, beginning evolution towards flightlessness is seen in some taxa.
Among the warbler and babbler superfamily Sylvioidea, the Locustellidae are closest to the Malagasy warblers, another newly recognised family and the Black-capped Donacobius (Donacobius atricapillus).
According to the IOC (2019) there are 62 extant species in this family. They are:
Cordillera Ground Warbler Robsonius rabori
Sierra Madre Ground Warbler Robsonius thompsoni
Bicol Ground Warbler Robsonius sorsogonensis
Russet Bush Warbler Locustella mandelli
Dalat Bush Warbler Locustella idonea
Javan Bush Warbler Locustella montis
Taiwan Bush Warbler Locustella alishanensis
Sichuan Bush Warbler Locustella chengi
West Himalayan Bush Warbler Locustella kashmirensis
Spotted Bush Warbler Locustella thoracica
Baikal Bush Warbler Locustella davidi
Chestnut-backed Bush Warbler Locustella castanea
Long-tailed Bush Warbler Locustella caudata
Common Grasshopper Warbler Locustella naevia
Long-billed Bush Warbler Locustella major
Chinese Bush Warbler Locustella tacsanowskia
Brown Bush Warbler Locustella luteoventris
River Warbler Locustella fluviatilis
Savi’s Warbler Locustella luscinioides
Lanceolated Warbler Locustella lanceolata
Middendorff’s Grasshopper Warbler Locustella ochotensis
Styan’s Grasshopper Warbler Locustella pleskei
Pallas’s Grasshopper Warbler Locustella certhiola
Marsh Grassbird Locustella pryeri
Gray’s Grasshopper Warbler Locustella fasciolata
Sakhalin Grasshopper Warbler Locustella amnicola
Benguet Bush Warbler Locustella seebohmi
Friendly Bush Warbler Locustella accentor
Little Rush Warbler Bradypterus baboecala
Highland Rush Warbler Bradypterus centralis
White-winged Swamp Warbler Bradypterus carpalis
Grauer’s Swamp Warbler Bradypterus graueri
Brown Emutail Bradypterus brunneus
Knysna Warbler Bradypterus sylvaticus
Cinnamon Bracken Warbler Bradypterus cinnamomeus
Evergreen Forest Warbler Bradypterus lopezi
Bangwa Forest Warbler Bradypterus bangwaensis
Barratt’s Warbler Bradypterus barratti
Ja River Scrub Warbler Bradypterus grandis
Bamboo Warbler Bradypterus alfredi
Sri Lanka Bush Warbler Elaphrornis palliseri
Broad-tailed Grassbird Schoenicola platyurus
Fan-tailed Grassbird Schoenicola brevirostris
Striated Grassbird Megalurus palustris
Rufous Songlark Megalurus mathewsi
Brown Songlark Megalurus cruralis
Little Grassbird Megalurus gramineus
New Zealand Fernbird Megalurus punctatus
Chatham Fernbird Megalurus rufescens
Spinifexbird Megalurus carteri
Tawny Grassbird Megalurus timoriensis
Papuan Grassbird Megalurus macrurus
Fly River Grassbird Megalurus albolimbatus
Grey Emutail Amphilais seebohmi
New Caledonian Thicketbird Megalurulus mariei
New Britain Thicketbird Megalurulus grosvenori
Melanesian Thicketbird Megalurulus whitneyi
Bougainville Thicketbird Megalurulus llaneae
Rusty Thicketbird Megalurulus rubiginosus
Long-legged Thicketbird Megalurulus rufus
Buff-banded Thicketbird Buettikoferella bivittata
Bristled Grassbird Chaetornis striata
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Common Grasshopper Warbler Locustella naevia
Species AccountThe common grasshopper warbler (Locustella naevia) is a species of Old World warbler in the grass warbler genus Locustella. It breeds across much of temperate Europe and western Asia. -
Common Grasshopper Warbler Locustella naevia
Species AccountThe grasshopper warbler is found scattered across the UK in summer, although less common in Scotland. Likes areas of scrub, thick grassland, the edges of reedbeds, new forestry plantations and gravel pits with plenty of scattered bushes. Read more at https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/grasshopper-warbler/#oYwWiTZke0fKkAbS.99 -
Common Grasshopper Warbler Locustella naevia
Species AccountSound archive and distribution map -
Lanceolated Warbler Locustella lanceolata
Species AccountThe lanceolated warbler (Locustella lanceolata) is an Old World warbler in the grass warbler genus Locustella. It breeds from northeast European Russia across northern Asia to northern Hokkaidō, Japan. -
Lanceolated Warbler Locustella lanceolata
Species AccountSound archive and distribution map -
New Zealand Fernbird Megalurus punctatus
Species AccountThe New Zealand fernbird or simply fernbird (Poodytes punctatus) is an insectivorous bird endemic to New Zealand. -
River Warbler Locustella fluviatilis
Species AccountThe river warbler (Locustella fluviatilis) is an Old World warbler in the grass warbler genus Locustella. It breeds in east and central Europe into western Asia. -
River Warbler Locustella fluviatilis
Species AccountSound archive and distribution map -
Savi's Warbler Locustella luscinioides
Species AccountThe Savi's warbler (Locustella luscinioides) is a species of Old World warbler in the grass warbler genus Locustella. It breeds in southern Europe and temperate western Asia. -
Savi's Warbler Locustella luscinioides
Species AccountSavi's warbler is right on the edge of its range here, and its numbers have always been very low and difficult to see in the UK. Like most of this family it is heard before it is seen, with a similar song to the grasshopper warbler but less persistent. Patiently watching where the sound is coming from will eventually result in the sight of a warm brown warbler, clinging to a reed. -
Savi's Warbler Locustella luscinioides
Species AccountSound archive and distribution map -
Tawny Grassbird Megalurus timoriensis
Species AccountTawny Grassbirds have light pink legs and feet whereas these were dark,almost black and it was in a large bush beside a lake. Also it seems to have a darker brow than a Tawny Grassbird? -
Tawny Grassbird Megalurus timoriensis
Species AccountThe tawny grassbird (Megalurus timoriensis) is a songbird species of the grass- and bush-warbler family (Locustellidae)
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Number of bird species: 62
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Reed and Bush Warblers
| By Peter Kennerley & David Pearson | Christopher Helm | 2010 | Hardback | 712 pages, 48 colour plates, illustrations | ISBN: 9780713660227 Buy this book from NHBS.com