Male in breeding plumage
Photo © by Mike Bouette
Mount Jackson, Western Australia, Australia, 25 August 2019
Photo © by Mike Bouette
Mount Jackson, Western Australia, Australia, 25 August 2019
Alternative name: Copperback
- Cinclosoma clarum
Identification
21-26cm (8¼-10¼ in)
Male:
- Black throat, face and upper breast
- White eyebrow and broad white streak on side of throat
- Grey flanks and white central belly
- Grey-brown upper back
- Chestnut shoulder to lower back, forming a wide band over the upperparts
- White tail tip
Female:
- Paler than male
- Brown face
- Grey upper breast
Juveniles are similar to females.
Distribution
Southwest and south-central Australia.
Locally fairly common.
Taxonomy
Subspecies
There are 2 subspecies[1]:
- C. c. clarum in southcentral Western Australia, southwest and southcentral Northern Territory and west South Australia - split as Copperback Quail-thrush by Gill and Donsker
- C. c. fordianum in south Western Australia and southwest South Australia
The described subspecies dundasi is an intergrade between clarum and fordianum.
Habitat
Mallee, low shrubs, dry woodland and heath in arid or semi-arid regions, usually on sandy substrates.
Behaviour
Diet
The diet includes invertebrates such as grasshoppers, beetles, flies, caterpillars, ants and seeds.
A shy, elusive bird, foraging on the ground.
Breeding
They nest in a depression in the ground which is lined with bark, grass and twigs. Lays 2 eggs.
Movements
Resident species, in some arid regions also nomadic.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2019. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World: v2019. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- 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
- Simpson, K and N Day. 1998. Field Guide to the Birds of Australia. London: Christopher Helm. ISBN 0-7136-4877-5
- Gill, F and D Donsker (Eds). 2015. IOC World Bird Names (version 5.2). Available at http://www.worldbirdnames.org/.
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Copperback Quail-thrush. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 9 October 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Copperback_Quail-thrush
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.
