Family Grasshopper-warblers and Grassbirds (Locustellidae)
Least Concern
Long-tailed Grasshopper-warbler (Locustella caudata)
Taxonomy
French: Locustelle à longue queue German: Langschwanzschwirl Spanish: Zarzalero colilargo
Other common names:
Long-tailed Bush-warbler
Taxonomy:
Pseudotharrhaleus caudatus
Ogilvie-Grant
, 1895,Lepanto Mountains, north Luzon, Philippines
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Subspecies and Distribution
L. c. caudata
(Ogilvie-Grant, 1895) – N Luzon, in Philippines.
L. c. unicolor
(E. J. O. Hartert, 1904) – Mindanao (except Zamboanga Peninsula), in S Philippines.
L. c. malindangensis
(Mearns, 1909) – N Zamboanga Peninsula (W Mindanao), in S Philippines.
Descriptive notes
16·5–18 cm; c. 18 g. A large, almost uniformly dark terrestrial bush-warbler, appearing all dark in gloom of forest habitat; vanes of the long tail (twelve feathers)... read more
Voice
Song, generally delivered from low down within dense cover, differs somewhat between the two... read more
Habitat
Occupies forest undergrowth and dense secondary growth in forest clearings; occurs above 700 m.
Food and feeding
No dietary information available other than that species feeds on invertebrates. Forages alone or in pairs, on or close to ground, often... read more
Breeding
Birds with enlarged gonads in Feb and fledglings found in Feb, May and Sept. No other information.
Movements
Resident.
Status and conservation
Not globally threatened. Restricted-range species: present in Luzon EBA and Mindanao and the Eastern Visayas EBA. Not common; generally reported as uncommon, this impression... read more
Previously placed in Bradypterus. Affinities uncertain; perhaps closest to L. accentor, which it resembles closely both in plumage and in song, but the two differ significantly in features of the tail and in foot size. Vocalizations of nominate race provoked little reaction when played to unicolor on Mindanao; investigation of relationships between these taxa required. Race malindangensis incorporated in unicolor by some authorities, and their songs are not known to differ#R. Three subspecies recognized.