New Caledonian thicketbird

New Caledonian thicketbird
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Locustellidae (see text)
Genus:	Megalurulus
Species:	M. mariei
Binomial name
Megalurulus mariei Verreaux, 1869

The New Caledonia thicketbird or New Caledonia grassbird (Megalurulus mariei), is a bird species. Previously placed in the "Old World warbler" family Sylviidae, it does not seem to be a close relative of the typical warblers; probably it belongs in the grass warbler family Locustellidae. This species is endemic to New Caledonia.

This is a long-tailed, medium sized "warbler" with a distinctive bold white supercillium. The bird’s plumage is unstreaked, with olive-brown uppersides (including the crown and wings) and creamy white undersides.

The New Caledonia Grassbird typically inhabits scrubby areas in the lowlands and hills of New Caledonia, particularly maquis minier with ferns, but also secondary forest and grasslands, and has even been seen in dense rainforest. It is generally solitary or seen in pairs and is non-migratory. The New Caledonian Grassbird favours dense cover and is retiring in its habits and is a difficult bird to observe or study.

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