Andrews in 1874 around the Macumba River at Lake Eyre, and named after the South Australian Surveyor General George Woodroffe Goyder.

Black and white ear coverts separate the dark head parts from the off-white chin and throat.

The eye is olive and the bill is light grey, lacking the dark culmen and brown tip seen in the adult male.

[15] Gould assumed it was related to the western grasswren (A. textilis) due to similarities in plumage characters.

[14][19] With the development of molecular studies, it was found that A. goyderi belongs in a clade with A. ballarae and A. purnelli which appears to have evolved from a common ancestor with A.

[21] A. goyderi has a patchy,[14] restricted distribution,[20] found only in dune fields of the Simpson and Strzelecki deserts of Central Australia.

[8] Most populations are found in South Australia from north of Cameron Corner to Witjira National Park;[4] with some in SW Queensland[12] and the Northern Territory.

[14] The Eyrean grasswren habitat consists of sandhill canegrass (Zygochloa paradoxa) tussocks on large, loosely sanded dune crests and slopes; as well as in speargrass (Aristida holathera), spinifex (Triodia spp.)

[4][13] Typical landscapes consist of tussocks ranging from 1–4m high and 2–3m in diameter, spaced well apart and with bare ground between them.

[6][13] Flight is rare,[14] but when flushed the birds bound with wings half spread between tussock clumps[6] or fly short distances of up to 10m with the tail trailing.

[4] Specimen stomach contents include seeds from grasses Z. paradoxa and Aristida holathera, as well as remnants of numerous invertebrate species.

[4] Nests are wedged into tussock stems close to the ground (usually <1m height) in clumps of Z. paradoxa and Australian boxthorn (Lychan austral).

A. goyderi was listed by the IUCN as threatened in 1988,[1] and as special concern by the Royal Australian Ornithologist's Union in 1992[23] as further research was required.

[24] The IUCN currently lists it as least concern since the species is not thought to be declining and probably fluctuates due to seasonal cycles.

[1] Threats include any species or processes affecting the quality of sandhill canegrass habitat such as erosion driven by grazing rabbits, camels and livestock.

[4] The first record of A. goyderi came from an expedition by J.W.Lewis into the arid northern regions of South Australia in 1874, resulting in the collection of six specimens obtained near the Macumba river on Lake Eyre.

However, due to the cryptic nature of the species and the remoteness of its distribution very little research into the behavioural habits has been undertaken.