Western whipbird

Western whipbird
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Cinclosomatidae
Genus: Psophodes
Species: P. nigrogularis
Binomial name
Psophodes nigrogularis
Gould, 1844

The western whipbird (Psophodes nigrogularis) is a passerine bird found in several scattered populations across southern Australia. It is predominantly olive green in colour.

A slim bird some 21 – 25 cm in length, it is olive green with a black throat and a narrow white cheek-patch edged with black on its face. It has a small crest and a long dark olive-green tail tipped with white, its underparts are a paler olive colour. The bill is black with blackish feet. Juveniles are a duller olive-brown in colour and lack the white cheek stripes and dark throat.[2]

Breeding occurs in spring; a bowl of twigs and sticks lined with softer material such as grasses, located in shrubs or trees less than 1–2 m above the ground. A clutch of two eggs, pale blue with blackish splotches and spots, measuring 26 x 19 mm.[3]

Four subspecies are recognised, though one has been considered by some to have specific status as the mallee whipbird (P. leucogaster). All are under threat to some degree.

References

  1. BirdLife International (2012). "Psophodes nigrogularis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
  2. Simpson K, Day N, Trusler P (1993). Field Guide to the Birds of Australia. Ringwood, Victoria: Viking O'Neil. p. 392. ISBN 0-670-90478-3.
  3. Beruldsen, G (2003). Australian Birds: Their Nests and Eggs. Kenmore Hills, Qld: self. p. 346. ISBN 0-646-42798-9.
  4. Garnett. p160
  5. Garnett. p161
  6. Garnett. p158
  7. Garnett. p159

Cited text

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