From Opus

Photo by greenbunion
Hamelin Pools, Western Australia, August 2006

Alternative names: Western Wedgebill; Chimes Bird; Wagonbird; Wheelbarrowbird

Psophodes occidentalis

[edit] Identification

19.5 - 22cm.

• Light brown crest (often with black tip) and upperparts
• Light grey underparts with faint streaking on breast
• White edged wing feathers
• Wedge-shaped, black bill
• White-tipped, long tail

Sexes alike. Juveniles are paler and have fluffier plumage.

[edit] Similar species

The Chirruping Wedgebill is almost identical and best told apart by voice and distribution.

[edit] Distribution

Found in Australia. Range from west-central Western Australia east to southern Northern Territory and northwest and central South Australia.
Common in west of its range, scarce in east.

[edit] Taxonomy

Monotypic.
Has been considered conspecific with Chirruping Wedgebill and placed in the monotypic genus Sphenostoma.

Photo by Tannin
Shark Bay area, Western Australia, December 2004

[edit] Habitat

Low shrubs and heath in dry areas.

[edit] Behaviour

Very little information about diet. Feeds probably on insects and seeds. Forages on the ground.
Breeding season from January to March and July to September. Its nest is made from twigs, lined with soft dry grass, placed inside a dense clump of vegetation; 2–3 bluish eggs are laid.
Resident species, some local shifts may occur.

[edit] References

1. Clements, JF. 2008. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2008. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist.
2. Del Hoyo, J, A Elliott, and D Christie, eds. 2007. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 12: Picathartes to Tits and Chickadees. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-8496553422
3. Simpson, K and N Day. 1998. Field Guide to the Birds of Australia. London: Christopher Helm. ISBN 0-7136-4877-5

• List of references

[edit] External Links