- Phaps elegans
Identification
- Dark olive-brown upperparts
- Chestnut nape and shoulders
- Blue-grey underparts
- 2 curved bronze irridescent blue-green bars across each wing
- Dark chestnut eyestripe, underlined by white
- Chestnut throat patch
Male: Chestnut forehead
Female: duller, lacks forehead patch
Distribution
Australia: found in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia.
Taxonomy
Subspecies[1]
There are 2 subspecies:
- P. e. occidentalis:
- South-western Australia (Dongara to Point Culver)
- P. e. elegans:
- South-eastern Queensland to south-central Australia and Tasmania
An additional subspecies P. e. neglecta is generally considered invalid[1].
Habitat
Dry forest, woodland and grassy heathlands.
Behaviour
Diet
Ground feeders, their diet consists mostly of seeds.
Breeding
The nest is a slightly cupped platform of twigs and sticks placed in dense brush. The clutch consists of 2 eggs which are incubated by the female for 18 days. The young fledge at 16 days.
References
- Clements, JF. 2009. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2009. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
- Avibase
- Birds in Backyards
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Brush Bronzewing. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 8 June 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Brush_Bronzewing
