The Kalkadoon Grasswren (Amytornis ballarae), also called the Ballara Grasswren, is a species of passerine

Passerine

A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...

 bird

Bird

Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...

 in the family Maluridae

Maluridae

The Maluridae are a family of small, insectivorous passerine birds endemic to Australia and New Guinea. Commonly known as wrens, they are unrelated to the true wrens of the Northern Hemisphere...

. It is endemic to Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

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Taxonomy

It was formerly treated as a subspecies of the Dusky Grasswren

Dusky Grasswren

The Dusky Grasswren is a species of bird in the Maluridae family.It is endemic to Australia.-References:* BirdLife International 2004. . Downloaded on 25 July 2007....

. The English qualifier ‘Kalkadoon

Kalkadoon

Kalkadoon, Indigenous Australian tribe living in the Mount Isa region of Queensland. In 1884 they were massacred at "Battle Mountain", in a fight against police....

’ refers to the name of the Aboriginal

Indigenous Australians

Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....

 group that used to inhabit the area where it is found. The specific epithet ballarae refers to the deserted mining town of Ballara

Ballara, Queensland

Ballara is the site of a deserted mining town in north-western Queensland, Australia, in the Selwyn Range between the towns of Mount Isa and Cloncurry. It includes the remains of a railway station for a long-closed narrow-gauge railway. Ballara is commemorated in the scientific name of the...

, in north-western Queensland

Queensland

Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

 between Mount Isa

Mount Isa, Queensland

-Culture and sport:The local theatre group, the Mount Isa Theatrical Society, or MITS, often holds plays and musicals, at least once every few months or so....

 and Cloncurry

Cloncurry, Queensland

-Notable residents:*Writer Alexis Wright grew up in Cloncurry.*Association Footballer Kasey Wehrman was born in Cloncurry . He went on to play domestically and in Scandinavia. His achievements include winning a NSL Championship in 1996-1997 with the Brisbane Strikers and being capped several times...

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Description

It is similar to the Dusky Grasswren, though the markings are generally brighter and more defined, e.g. the wing coverts and remiges are grayish with a small rufous patch at the base of the outer remiges, compared with the same parts of the Dusky Grasswren being a uniformly dull rufous-brown.

Distribution and habitat

The Kalkadoon Grasswren has a restricted range, being endemic to spinifex

Triodia (plant genus)

Triodia is a large genus of hummock-forming grass endemic to Australia; they are commonly known as spinifex, although they are not a part of the coastal genus Spinifex. There are currently 64 recognised species...

 covered hills in the Selwyn Range

Selwyn Range (Australia)

The Selwyn Range is a rugged mountain range near Mount Isa and Cloncurry in north-west Queensland, Australia, composed largely of Proterozoic metamorphic rocks...

 system of north-west Queensland

Queensland

Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

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