Broad-tailed grassbird

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Species of bird

title: "Broad-tailed grassbird" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["schoenicola", "endemic-birds-of-india", "birds-of-south-india", "birds-described-in-1844", "taxonomy-articles-created-by-polbot"] description: "Species of bird" topic_path: "geography/india" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broad-tailed_grassbird" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Species of bird ::

| status = NT | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = | image = Broad-tailed Grassbird in Mahabaleshwar August 2025 by Tisha Mukherjee 03.jpg | image_caption = Schoenicola platyurus in Maharashtra, India. | genus = Schoenicola | species = platyurus | authority = (Jerdon, 1841) | synonyms = Timalia platyura ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/97/Broad-tailed_grassbird_(Schoenicola_platyurus)_call.wav" caption="Broad-tailed grassbird call recorded in Koottanad, Kerala"] ::

The broad-tailed grassbird (Schoenicola platyurus) is a species of Old World warbler in the family Locustellidae. It is endemic to the Western Ghats of India with a possibility of occurrence in Sri Lanka. A small, mostly brown bird, it has a broad rounded and graduated tail. It is found only on the higher altitude grassy hills where it usually skulks, except during the breeding season when males fly up into the air to sing in their display. The species is believed to be a resident although it is possible that they make local movements.

Description

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/81/SchoenicolaHeadFBI.jpg" caption="Head showing the short bill and the two rictal bristles"] ::

The uniform brown upperparts with a broad, round-tipped and long graduated tail are distinctive features of this bird. The species has a buff supercilium and the brown tail has thin dark bars. The underside of the tail is very dark and the feathers are tipped with white. Males and females are indistinguishable in plumage. The call of the male during breeding is a lark-like and repeated trill that is accompanied by fanned tail and a fluttering flight. Other calls include a chack and a zink note. The gape colour is black and visible in singing males but is brown in females. In the non-breeding season, it is a skulker moving rapidly between grass and reeds but sometimes perching in the open.

Taxonomy and systematics

The species has in former times included the African Schoenicola brevirostris, which was originally called Catriscus apicalis and later Schoenicola platyura brevirostris. The Indian species was first described by Thomas C. Jerdon who found the bird at the base of the Gudalur ghat in the foothills of the Nilgiris. The bill is short and strong with the culmen slightly curved, and there are two rictal bristles. The tarsus is somewhat long for the proportions. The populations north and south of the Palghat gap are said to differ in plumage shade: the northern form being larger, paler and greyer above with the flanks sandy-brown; the southern form is dark rufous brown above and more whitish below with bright buff on the breast and flanks. This plumage variation was earlier believed to be seasonal. Molecular phylogeny studies place the genus in the warbler subfamily Megalurinae along with Megalurus, Chaetornis and Graminicola. A study of the group shows that the African S. brevirostris and S. platyurus are not closely related and that S. platyurus is a sister of Chaetornis striata.

Distribution

The broad-tailed grassbird is restricted to grassy moist highlands, principally in the Western Ghats of southern India mainly south of Karnataka but with some records from Pune, Lonavala and Nashik. A specimen was collected by S. A. Hussain at Point Calimere that suggests that the bird may be involved in local movements or migrations, possibly into Sri Lanka. Suggestions that it may occur in Sri Lanka are as yet not well supported; there is an old specimen and doubtfully identified by Colonel Legge and two unconfirmed sight records from Gammaduwa, Matale Hills, and Waitalawa, Rangala Hills.

Behaviour and ecology

The breeding season appears to be from March to May, but nests have been seen in July and September, so the raising of two broods is suspected. The nest is a ball of coarse grass blades with an entrance on the side and placed low in a tussock of long grass. The eggs are white with spots and blotches of brownish red. The usual clutch is 2 or 3 eggs. It feeds on insects.

References

References

  1. BirdLife International. (2024). "''Schoenicola platyurus''".
  2. Raman ,T. R. S.. (1998). "Observations on the vocalizations and display of the Broadtailed Grass Warbler (''Schoenicola platyura'') (Jerdon)". [[Newsletter for Birdwatchers]].
  3. Brooks, WE. (1880). "A few remarks on ''Schoenicola platyura''". Stray Feathers.
  4. (2001). "Threatened Birds of Asia". BirdLife International.
  5. Sharpe, RB. (1883). "Catalogue of the birds in the British Museum. Volume 7. Cichlomorphae Part 4. Timeliidae". British Museum.
  6. Jerdon, T.C.. (1844). "Supplement to the catalogue of birds of the peninsula of India". Madras Journal of Literature and Science.
  7. Jerdon, T.C.. (1863). "The birds of India". The Military Orphan Press.
  8. Oates, E. W.. (1889). "The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Birds". Taylor and Francis.
  9. Baker, E.C.S.. (1924). "The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Birds". Taylor and Francis.
  10. Bowdler Sharpe, R.. (1882). "A note on the genera ''Schoenicola'' and ''Catriscus'' [Reprinted from the Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 1881]". Stray Feathers.
  11. (2006). "Phylogeny and classification of the avian superfamily Sylvioidea". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution.
  12. (2005). "African endemics span the tree of songbirds (Passeri): molecular systematics of several evolutionary 'enigmas'". [[Proceedings of the Royal Society B]].
  13. Drovetski, S. V.. (2004). "Mitochondrial phylogeny of ''Locustella'' and related genera". Journal of Avian Biology.
  14. (2018). "Comprehensive molecular phylogeny of the grassbirds and allies (Locustellidae) reveals extensive non-monophyly of traditional genera, and a proposal for a new classification". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution.
  15. (2007). "Broad-tailed Grass-warbler ''Schoenicola platyura'' in Nashik, Maharashtra". Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society.
  16. Hussain, S.A.. (1976). ["Occurrence of the Broadtailed Grass Warbler ''Schoenicola platyura'' (Jerdon)] on the Coromandel coast"](https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/48293403). Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society.
  17. (2005). "Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide". Smithsonian Institution & Lynx Edicions.
  18. Hume, A. O.. (1880). "''Schoenicola platyurus''". Stray Feathers.
  19. (1997). "Handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan". Oxford University Press.

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