| Olive Whistler | |
|---|---|
| Olive Whistler, South West Tasmania | |
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Pachycephalidae |
| Genus: | Pachycephala |
| Species: | P. olivacea |
| Binomial name | |
| Pachycephala olivacea Vigors & Horsfield, 1827 |
|
The Olive Whistler, Pachycephala olivacea is a species of bird of the whistler family Pachycephalidae that is native to southeastern Australia. By an untrained eye, they can be mistaken for female Golden Whistlers.[2]
Adult birds are around 18–20 cm (7–8 in) long, and have an overall olive brown plumage with a streaked white throat. The male has a dark grey head, pale grey breast and red-tinged buff belly and rump. The female lacks the red tinge, and has brown underparts. The legs, bill and eyes of both sexes are a brown-black. The melodious call has been likened to, "I'll get you", or "You're cranky",[3] and is possibly the most musical of all whistlers.[4]
The Olive Whistler is found from the McPherson Range in far southeast Queensland south through New South Wales and into Victoria and southeastern South Australia, Flinders and King Island and Tasmania.[5] The habitat is mainly wet forest, and Antarctic beech forest in northern New South Wales. An uncommon species, it is considered of Least Concern on the global IUCN Red List,[1] but Vulnerable in New South Wales due to habitat fragmentation and feral cats and foxes.[4] It is predominantly insectivorous.
Olive Whistlers nest from September to December, raising one brood during this period. The nest is a fragile bowl of twigs, grasses and bits of bark lined with softer plant material and bound with spiderwebs in the fork of a tree around 2 m (7 ft) above the ground. A clutch of two or three oval eggs are laid, 20 x 28 mm and shiny cream with brown, black and lavender spots and blotches (more on larger end).[5]