Little Grassbird (Poodytes gramineus) - BirdLife species factsheet

Little Grassbird Poodytes gramineus

Current view: Data table and detailed info

Taxonomy

Taxonomic note

Poodytes gramineus (del Hoyo and Collar 2016) was previously listed as Megalurus gramineus.
Plumage pattern and biogeography suggest ancestral link with P. punctatus of New Zealand, and possibly also with Madagascar’s Amphilais (now Bradypterus) seebohmi. Validity of poorly known subspecies papuensis doubted in past, but separating characters have recently been confirmed and the taxon may merit further attention given its isolation (Beehler & Pratt 2016). Subspecies thomasi sometimes included in nominate (Johnstone & Storr 2004). Four subspecies recognised.

Taxonomic source(s)
Christidis, L. and Boles, W.E. 2008. Systematics and Taxonomy of Australian Birds. CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood, Australia.
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A., Fishpool, L.D.C., Boesman, P. and Kirwan, G.M. 2016. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 2: Passerines. Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.

IUCN Red List criteria met and history

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	-	-

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2024	Least Concern
2016	Least Concern
2012	Least Concern
2009	Least Concern
2008	Least Concern
2004	Least Concern
2000	Lower Risk/Least Concern
1994	Lower Risk/Least Concern
1988	Lower Risk/Least Concern

Species attributes

Migratory status	not a migrant	Forest dependency	low
Land-mass type		Average mass	-

Range

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	10,900,000 km²	medium
Severely fragmented?	no	-

Population

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	unknown	-	-	-
Population trend	increasing	-	estimated	-
Generation length	2.94 years	-	-	-

Population justification: The global population size has not been quantified, but the species is reported to be locally common (Morcombe 2000). The population is estimated to be increasing following a recorded range expansion in recent decades (del Hoyo et al. 2006).

Trend justification: The population is estimated to be increasing following a recorded range expansion in recent decades (del Hoyo et al. 2006).

Country/territory distribution

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
Australia	extant	native		yes
Indonesia	extant	native	yes

Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBA)

Country/Territory	IBA Name

Habitats & altitude

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Mangrove Vegetation Above High Tide Level	suitable	resident
Marine Intertidal	Salt Marshes (Emergent Grasses)	suitable	resident
Savanna	Dry	suitable	resident
Shrubland	Subtropical/Tropical Dry	suitable	resident
Wetlands (inland)	Bogs, Marshes, Swamps, Fens, Peatlands	major	resident
Wetlands (inland)	Shrub Dominated Wetlands	suitable	resident
Altitude	0 - 1600 m	Occasional altitudinal limits

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Little Grassbird Poodytes gramineus. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/little-grassbird-poodytes-gramineus on 23/11/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 23/11/2024.