Grassbirds & Allies

The Locustellidae family, recognized for small insect-eating songbirds previously lumped with Old World warblers, consists of grass warblers, grassbirds, and Bradypterus bush warblers. These birds are primarily found across Eurasia, Africa, and the Australian region. They are typically small, with long and pointed tails, and their appearance ranges from drab brown to buffy with possible bold streaks on their wings or undersides. Notably terrestrial in their habits, they forage by moving through dense vegetation or on the ground, with some species showing a tendency towards reduced flight capabilities. Closely related to the Malagasy warblers, they also share an ancestor with the non-wren South American black-capped donacobius. A notable phylogenetic study in 2018 led to changes in their genus classifications, including resurrection and introduction of new genera. The family comprises 67 species across 11 genera, such as the grass warblers of Locustella, several species of ground warblers in Robsonius, and the striated grassbird from the genus Megalurus, among others. The taxonomic organization displays the genera's evolutionary relationships, with a diverse array represented in the family.