Subspecies Tyto longimembris longimembris (Jerdon, 1839)
Eastern Grass Owl
- Strix longimembris Jerdon, 1839.
Type data:
Holotype BMNH (institution uncertain, ex T.C. Jerdon coll., or ?IM—ex T.C. Jerdon coll.), Neilgherries, India. - Strix walleri Diggles, 1866.
Type data:
Syntype(s) QM 0.11985 unsexed adult (institution uncertain, not traced, ?J. Gould coll., dispersed), neighbourhood of Brisbane, QLD
Comment: for identification of syntypes, see Ingram (1987). - Tyto longimembris georgiae Mathews, 1912.
Type data:
Holotype AMNH 629423 ♀ (G.M. Mathews' coll. no. 12114), Victoria River, NT (as Northern Territory)
Comment: for identification of holotype and type locality, see Greenway (1978). - Tyto longimembris maculosa Glauert, 1945.
Type data:
Holotype WAM A5792 ♀, Cranbrook, southwest WA
Comment: for identification of holotype, see Whittell & Serventy (1948: 46, footnote).
Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy
- Schodde, R. & Mason, I.J. 1981. Nocturnal Birds of Australia. Illustrated by Jeremy Boot. Melbourne : Lansdowne Edns 136 pp. 22 pls. [publication dated as 1980] [61]
Generic Combinations
- Tyto longimembris (Jerdon, 1839).
- Tyto longimembris longimembris (Jerdon, 1839).
Distribution
States
New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, Western Australia
Extra Distribution Information
Localized breeding populations in coastal and subcoastal W Arnhem Land, coastal E QLD from Cape York Peninsula to the Clarence-Macleay-Manning Rivers, NSW, and Barkly Tableland, NT, south to river plains of E Lake Eyre and N Murray-Darling basins (Georgina, Diamantina, Thomson-Cooper, Warrego, Balonne and middle Darling Rivers)—disperses irregularly to all parts of Australia, reaching Cranbrook in SW WA, Werribee near Melbourne, the Kimberley Division, and south-west islands in Torres Strait—also sporadically through Indonesian archipelagos to SE Asia and India, and to SW Pacific islands.
IBRA
NSW, NT, Qld, WA: Arnhem Coast (ARC), Arnhem Plateau (ARP), Brigalow Belt North (BBN), Brigalow Belt South (BBS), Broken Hill Complex (BHC), Central Arnhem (CA), Channel Country (CHC), Central Kimberley (CK), Central Mackay Coast (CMC), Cobar Peneplain (CP), Cape York Peninsula (CYP), Daly Basin (DAB), Darwin Coastal (DAC), Desert Uplands (DEU), Dampierland (DL), Darling Riverine Plains (DRP), Einasleigh Uplands (EIU), Gulf Fall and Uplands (GFU), Gulf Coastal (GUC), Gulf Plains (GUP), Murray Darling Depression (MDD), Mitchell Grass Downs (MGD), Mount Isa Inlier (MII), Mulga Lands (ML), Nandewar (NAN), New England Tablelands (NET), Northern Kimberley (NK), NSW North Coast (NNC), NSW South Western Slopes (NSS), Ord Victoria Plain (OVP), Pine Creek (PCK), Riverina (RIV), Sydney Basin (SB), South Eastern Highlands (SEH), South Eastern Queensland (SEQ), Simpson Strzelecki Dunefields (SSD), Sturt Plateau (STU), Tiwi Cobourg (TIW), Victoria Bonaparte (VB), Wet Tropics (WT)
Distribution References
Ecological Descriptors
Carnivorous, gregarious, low shrubland, nocturnal, nomadic, open heath, predator, terrestrial, tussock grassland, volant.
Extra Ecological Information
Randomly dispersed, opportunistic breeder, general carnivore (primarily large rodents), riparian in flood-plain grasslands and heaths, roosts and nests in tunnels beneath grass and heath tussock, hunts by quartering on wing over heath, riparian grassland and treeless flood plains by night.
General References
Greenway, J.C. 1978. Type specimens of birds in the American Museum of Natural History. Pt 2. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 161: 1-306 (identification of holotype and type locality of Tyto longimembris georgiae)
Ingram, G.J. 1987. Avian type specimens in the Queensland Museum. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 25: 239-254 (identification of syntypes of Strix walleri)
Whittell, H.M. & Serventy, D.L. 1948. A Systematic List of the Birds of Western Australia. Perth : Public Library Museum and Art Gallery of West. Aust. Spec. Publ. Vol. 1 vi 126 pp. [Zimmer, J.T. 1926. Catalogue of the Edward E. Ayer Ornithological Library. Field Museum of Natural History Publications, Zoological Series 16: 1–364 (Pt 1, Publ. 239), 365–706 (Pt 2, Publ. 240) (cf. Mathews, G.M. 1925. The Birds of Australia. Supplements 4 & 5. Bibliography of the Birds of Australia Pts 1 & 2. London : H.F. & G. Witherby viii 149 pp.)] (identification of holotype of T. longimembris maculosa)
Common Name References
Menkhorst, P., Rogers, D., Clarke, R., Davies, J., Marsack, P. & Franklin, K. 2019. The Australian Bird Guide. Clayton South, VIC : CSIRO Publishing 2nd, pp. 576. [242] (Eastern Grass Owl)
History of changes
| Published | As part of group | Action Date | Action Type | Compiler(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AVES | 03-Nov-2020 | ADDED |