Megalurus mathewsi (Iredale, 1911)

Scientific Classification

The rufous songlark, scientifically named Megalurus mathewsi (Iredale, 1911), is a medium brown passerine songbird with streaked feather patterns.

General Description

Encyclopædia Britannica describes this species as "drab and vaguely larklike".

Plumage Features

It has a dark line running through its eye, a pale eyebrow, pale underparts, and rufous coloration on both the upper tail and rump.

Size

It is slightly larger than a house sparrow: adult males grow to around 19 centimeters in total length, and are larger than adult females, which only reach around 16 centimeters.

Similar Species Comparison

This species resembles the closely related brown songlark, but male brown songlarks are much larger than male rufous songlarks. Additionally, female brown songlarks do not have the rufous rump that marks female rufous songlarks.

Distribution

The rufous songlark is common across almost all of mainland Australia, but it is uncommon in the northern Top End region of the Northern Territory (Goodfellow & Stott, 2001; 2005), and rare on the island of Tasmania.

Range Size

The total estimated range of this species falls between 1,000,000 and 10,000,000 square kilometers.

Most Common Range

It occurs most often in the Australian states of New South Wales, Queensland, and Western Australia.

Migration Pattern

Each year, the rufous songlark spends colder months in northern Australia, and migrates south to breed during the summer.

Sighting Seasonality

Because of this migration pattern, it is typically only seen during warmer months, as the southern part of its range is more densely populated by humans.