- Pyrrholaemus sagittatus
Identification
13cm. Grey brown back, wings and tail, with soft dark streaks. Black crown streaked with buff, pale, heavily streaked underparts, off-white face with streaking on the ear coverts. The male has a black upper margin to the brow, while the female has a rufous upper edge to the brow. Dark tail with a wide black band above white tips of the outer tail feathers.
Distribution
Taxonomy
Monotypic.
Formerly this species was placed in its own genus Chthonicola. Now it's considered to belong to the genus Pyrrholaemus.
Habitat
Eucalyptus, grassy understorey, rocky ridges or in gullies, native tussock grasses, a sparse shrub layer, and an open canopy.
Behaviour
The diet includes seeds and insects.
It builds a rounded, domed, nest, with a side entrance, of dry grass and strips of bark which is located in a slight hollow in the ground or the base of a low thick plant. 3-4 glossy red-brown eggs are laid, both parents feed the nestlings.