Western Whipbird

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Western Whipbird
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Cinclosomatidae
Genus: Psophodes
Species: P. nigrogularis
Binomial name
Psophodes nigrogularis
Gould, 1844

The Western Whipbird (Psophodes nigrogularis) is a passerine bird found in several scattered populations across southern Australia. It is predominantly olive green in colour.

A slim bird some 21 - 25 cm in length, it is olive green with a black throat and a narrow white cheek-patch edged with black on its face. It has a small crest and a long dark olive-green tail tipped with white, its underparts are a paler olive colour. The bill is black with blackish feet. Juveniles are a duller olive-brown in colour and lack the white cheek stripes and dark throat.[1]

Breeding occurs in spring; a bowl of twigs and sticks lined with softer material such as grasses, located in shrubs or trees less than 1-2 m above the ground. A clutch of two eggs, pale blue with blackish splotches and spots, measuring 26 x 19 mm.[2]

Four subspecies are recognised, though one has been considered by some to have specific status as the Mallee Whipbird (P. leucogaster). All are under threat to some degree.

  • P. n. lashmari: (Rare) The Kangaroo Island subspecies is endemic to Kangaroo Island, being found in mallee there.[3]
  • P. n. leucogaster: (Vulnerable) The Eastern mallee subspecies is found in scattered populations in mallee country on Northwestern Victoria and southern South Australia.[4]
  • P. n. nigrogularis: (Endangered) The Western heath subspecies is now restricted to a small patch east of Albany, having disappeared from large parts of its range due to land clearance.[5]
  • P. n. oberon: (Rare) The Western mallee subspecies is found in scattered populations between the Stirling Ranges and Ravensthorpe. It is apparently common in the Fitzgerald River National Park.[6]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Simpson K, Day N, Trusler P (1993). Field Guide to the Birds of Australia. Ringwood, Victoria: Viking O'Neil, 392. ISBN 0-670-90478-3. 
  2. ^ Beruldsen, G (2003). Australian Birds: Their Nests and Eggs. Kenmore Hills, Qld: self, 346. ISBN 0-646-42798-9. 
  3. ^ Garnett. p160
  4. ^ Garnett. p161
  5. ^ Garnett. p158
  6. ^ Garnett. p159

[edit] Cited text

  • Garnett, S. (1993) Threatened and Extinct Birds Of Australia. RAOU. National Library, Canberra. ISSN 0812-8014
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