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Eastern Shrike-tit - BirdForum Opus

Revision as of 00:41, 31 July 2023 by Njlarsen (talk | contribs) (Prepare to move back to hyphenated version of name)
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Photo by rebelxt
Adelaide, Australia, November 2005

Alternative names: Eastern Shriketit, Eastern Shrike Tit

Falcunculus frontatus

Identification

Female, notice the green throat
Photo by Hans&Judy Beste
Toowoomba Shire, Queensland, April 2018

16–19 cm (6¼-7½ in)

  • Dull green back and wings
  • Yellow belly
  • Boldly marked black and white head
  • Small black crest.
  • Bill is unusually deep, strong and hooked

Females are similar to males but have a dark olive-green throat.

Similar Species

Western Shrike-tit has a white belly while Northern Shrike-tit is smaller and paler.

Distribution

Eastern and southern Australia: from central Queensland to southern Victoria and southeast South Australia)

Taxonomy

This is a monotypic species[1].

This species was formerly included in Crested Shrike-tit together with Western Shrike-tit and Northern Shrike-tit.

Habitat

Eucalyptus forests and woodlands. Also in riparian vegetation or mature rainforest in some areas.

Behaviour

Resident with some local movements.

Diet

Feeds mainly on insects, takes also spiders, fruit seeds and arils. Forages in trees, taking prey from barks or foliage.

Breeding

Breeding season from August to January, usually double-brooded. The nest is a deep cup, made by the female with bark strips and dry grass. It's placed 6 - 15m high in a tree fork. Lays 2 - 3 eggs.
Nests parasitized by Pallid Cuckoo, Brush Cuckoo and Fan-tailed Cuckoo.

Vocalisation

A whistle which due to falling slightly in pitch can be described as mournful. This sound is usually given as part of a series with between 1 and 9 repeats, and the first couple of repeats usually less strong in volume.

References

  1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2022. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2022. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
  2. Gill, F, D Donsker, and P Rasmussen (Eds). 2023. IOC World Bird List (v 13.1)_red. Doi 10.14344/IOC.ML.13.1. http://www.worldbirdnames.org/
  3. Kirwan, G. M., W. Boles, and D. A. Christie (2022). Eastern Shrike-tit (Falcunculus frontatus), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (N. D. Sly, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.cresht1.01

Recommended Citation

External Links

Retrieved from ‘https://www.birdforum.net/wiki/index.php?title=Eastern_Shrike-tit&oldid=266900’
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