Chestnut Quail-thrush

Male
Photo by Pearly_Shells
Gludpot Reserve South Australia, October 2004

Alternative names: Chestnut Quail-thrush; Chestnut Groundbird; Copperback

Cinclosoma castanotum

Cinclosoma castanotus

Identification

21-26cm.
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 band over the upperparts
• White tail tip

Female:

• Paler than male
• Brown face
• Grey upper breast

Juveniles are similar to females.

Distribution

Southwest, south-central and southeast Australia.
Locally fairly common.

Taxonomy

There are 3 subspecies:

• C. c. clarum in southcentral Western Australia, southwest and southcentral Northern Territory and west South Australia
• C. c. fordianum in south Western Australia and southwest South Australia
• C. c. castanotum in southeast South Australia, southwest and central New South Wales and northwest Victoria

The described subspecies dundasi is an intergrade between clarum and fordianum. Other proposed subspecies (mayri, morgani) are considered indistinguishable from the nominate form.

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

It nests in a depression in the ground which is lined with bark, grass and twigs. Lays 2 eggs.
Resident species, in some arid regions also nomadic.

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.
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

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Chestnut Quail-thrush. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 21 December 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Chestnut_Quail-thrush

External Links

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Search for photos of Chestnut Quail-thrush in the gallery

• View more images of this species on the ABID