Alternative names: Desert Chat, Gibber Chat; Desert Bird
- Ashbyia lovensis
Identification
11-14cm. A distinctive australian chat with a robust body, a rather heavy bill and a short primary projection.
Male
- Grey-fawn crown
- Yellow eyebrow, lores, face and underparts
- White to yellow eye
- Grey-brown to buffy-brown back
- Yellow breast and flanks washed grey-brown
Female
- Browner above than male, paler below
- Buffy-brown breast band
Juveniles are similar to females but with buff lores, a faint supercilium, a whitish chin and throat and a pale yellow or flesh-coloured gape.
Distribution
Endemic to central Australia where found in extreme southern Northern Territory, southwest Queensland, northern South Australia and northwestern New South Wales.
Uncommon in its range.
Taxonomy
This is a monotypic species.
Habitat
Occurs in gibber and sparsely vegetated stony deserts and open shrubland-grassland.
Behaviour
Diet
Feeds mainly on insects, takes also some seeds and vegetable matter.
Forages singly or in pairs on the ground, occasionally in small groups.
Breeding
Breeding recorded in all months, mostly from September to October. Nests possibly after good rains.
The nest is a deep cup made of fine stems, rootlets and grass, sometimes feather or hair. It's placed in a shallow depression on the ground. Lays 2 to 4 eggs.
Movements
A partly nomadic species. Movements poorly understood.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, B.L. Sullivan, C. L. Wood, and D. Roberson. 2013. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: Version 6.8., with updates to August 2013. 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
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Gibberbird. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 9 May 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Gibberbird
