The
Golden Whistler (
Pachycephala pectoralis) is a species of bird native to the
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
-
New GuineaNew Guinea, located north of Australia, is the world's second largest island. It became separated from the Australian mainland when the area now known as the Torres Strait flooded after the last glacial period. The name Papua has long been associated with the island...
region and extending somewhat into the Pacific. It is among the birds with the highest number of geographic
subspeciesSubspecies in biological classification, is 1) a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, or 2) a taxonomic unit, a taxon in that rank...
, with 59 recognised subspecies and a number of closely related species which may be subspecies (like the
Tongan WhistlerThe Tongan Whistler is a species of bird in the Pachycephalidae family. It is endemic to the island of Vava'u in Tonga...
). The male usually has a bright yellow underside, olive-green back and wings, and a black head with a yellow collar.
The
Golden Whistler (
Pachycephala pectoralis) is a species of bird native to the
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
-
New GuineaNew Guinea, located north of Australia, is the world's second largest island. It became separated from the Australian mainland when the area now known as the Torres Strait flooded after the last glacial period. The name Papua has long been associated with the island...
region and extending somewhat into the Pacific. It is among the birds with the highest number of geographic
subspeciesSubspecies in biological classification, is 1) a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, or 2) a taxonomic unit, a taxon in that rank...
, with 59 recognised subspecies and a number of closely related species which may be subspecies (like the
Tongan WhistlerThe Tongan Whistler is a species of bird in the Pachycephalidae family. It is endemic to the island of Vava'u in Tonga...
). The male usually has a bright yellow underside, olive-green back and wings, and a black head with a yellow collar. The females have various subdued colours across the range; both sexes have red-brown eyes. Golden Whistlers have a strong, musical voice.
Distribution
Distribution of the Golden Whisler extends across Australia except parts of Western Australia. They can also be found in
TasmaniaTasmania is an Australian island and state. It is located south of the eastern side of the continent, from which it is separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania – the 26th largest island in the world – and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 500,000 ,...
,
IndonesiaThe Republic of Indonesia is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia comprises 17,508 islands. With an estimated population of around 237 million people, it is the world's fourth most populous country, with the world's largest population of Muslims.Indonesia is a republic, with an...
,
FijiFiji , officially the Republic of the Fiji Islands , is an island nation in the South Pacific Ocean east of Vanuatu, west of Tonga and south of Tuvalu. The country comprises an archipelago of about 322 islands, of which 106 are permanently inhabited, and 522 islets...
,
New GuineaNew Guinea, located north of Australia, is the world's second largest island. It became separated from the Australian mainland when the area now known as the Torres Strait flooded after the last glacial period. The name Papua has long been associated with the island...
, and the
Solomon IslandsThe Solomon Islands is a country in Melanesia, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. Together they cover a land mass of 28,400 square kilometres . The capital is Honiara, located on the island of Guadalcanal.The Solomon Islands are believed to have been...
. Golden Whistlers live in the same area for most of the year, but birds in the south-east migrate during winter months.
Ecology
The Golden Whistler can be found in almost any wooded habitat, especially dense forests. It eats berries,
insectInsects are arthropods, having a hard exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae. They are the most diverse group of animals on the planet and include more than a million species that are already described. Insects represent more than half of all...
s,
spiderSpiders are air-breathing chelicerate arthropods that have eight legs, and chelicerae modified into fangs that inject venom. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all other groups of organisms...
s, and other small
arthropodAn arthropod is an invertebrate that has an exoskeleton , a segmented body, and jointed attachments called appendages. Arthropods are animals belonging to the Phylum Arthropoda , and include the insects, arachnids, crustaceans, and others...
s. They usually feed alone and obtain food from the lower to middle tree level, or they may alternatively take part in
mixed-species feeding flockA mixed-species feeding flock, also termed a mixed-species foraging flock, mixed hunting party or informally bird wave, is a flock of usually insectivorous birds of different species, that join each other and move together while foraging...
s. On
Santa Isabel IslandSanta Isabel Island is the longest in the Solomon Islands, South Pacific, and the largest in Isabel Province.Choiseul lies to the west, Malaita to the east...
for example it was noted that this species only joins such flocks as they move through inland forest, away from the coast or larger rivers (Kratter
et al. 2001).
This species breeds between September and January. Male and female both work on the nest, which is a shallow bowl made of twigs, grass, and bark, and bound together with spider web. Only one brood is raised per season and both birds share incubation and care of young. Eggs hatch 15 days after they are laid and the young leave the nest after 12 days.
External links