Alternative names: Rufous-breasted Whistler; Rufous-breasted Thickhead; Northern Thickhead; Pale-breasted Thickhead
- Pachycephala rufiventris
Identification
16 -18cm (6-7 in)
- Large head
- Short stubby bill
- Long narrow tail with a square or slightly forked tip
Male
- Dark-grey upperparts
- White throat
- Black breast
- Reddish underparts
- Some males (apart from northern races) have a black face mask
- Blackish-brown wings and tail
Females
- Greyish-brown
- Streaked underparts
Young birds more rufous than adults with heavily streaked underparts.
Distribution
Australia and New Caledonia.
Fairly common in its range.
Taxonomy
White-bellied Whistler, Black-headed Whistler and Wallacean Whistler have been treated as subspecies of this species in the past.
Subspecies
Five subspecies recognized[1]:
- P. r. minor on Bathurst Island and Meville Island off northern Australia
- P. r. falcata in northwest Western Australia and northern third of Northern Territory
- P. r. pallida in northeast Australia (Cape York Peninsula and northwest Queensland)
- P. r. rufiventris in the southern four-fifths of mainland Australia
- P. r. xanthetraea in New Caledonia
Habitat
Mostly dry eucalypt forests, woodlands and shrublands, gardens and farmland with some trees, and in remnant bushland patches. Mainly in lowlands up to 450m.
Behaviour
Diet
The diet consists of arthropods, mainly insects, also seeds, fruit and sometimes leaves. Feeds mainly among foliage.
Breeding
Breeding season from July to March (peak from October to November) in Australia. The female builds a cup-shaped nest from twigs, grass, and vines, using spider's web to bind it and to fix it to a tree fork. Lays 2 - 3 eggs. Two broods may be produced in a season. Both adults incubate the eggs and care for the young.
Movements
Resident in most of its range, partly migratory in eastern Australia but movements poorly understood.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2017. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2017, with updates to August 2017. 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
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved November 2015)
- Birds in Backyards
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Rufous Whistler. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 11 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Rufous_Whistler
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
