About Megalurus timoriensis Wallace, 1864
The tawny grassbird (Megalurus timoriensis Wallace, 1864) is a medium-sized grassbird. It has a wingspan of 56-69mm, a stout 14-17mm bill, and weighs between 13-25g. This species has an unstreaked rufous, or rich brown, cap, obvious rufous fringes on flight feathers when the wing is folded, and completely unstreaked underparts. It also has a long drooping tail and a rufous rump. Males produce a varied song during both display flights and when perched on exposed perches, and sing most often in spring and summer. The tawny grassbird can be told apart from the closely related little grassbird by its larger size, stouter bill, more rufous plumage, and longer tail. Within Australia, the tawny grassbird occurs mainly on coastal lowlands, in rank grasslands, among sedges, reeds, and rushes, and in areas bordering wetlands. In 2011, a population of tawny grassbirds was discovered in Alice Springs, almost 100 km away from the species' other known populations. Generally, grassbirds found in inland eastern Australia belong to the little grassbird species. Tawny grassbirds build well-hidden cup-shaped grass nests in long grass, and typically lay 3 freckled reddish eggs.
